Middlesbrough host Championship leaders Burnley on Good Friday evening, with the chance of the visitors being confirmed as promoted to the Premier League.
Vincent Kompany’s Clarets need a result to go their way earlier in the day for that to happen, but will still need to see off an impressive Boro side pushing for second place under Michael Carrick.
Here’s what you need to know about a potentially defining fixture at the top of the Championship.
Middlesbrough vs Burnley H2H Results (Last Five Meetings)
Current Championship Form (Last Five Games)
Country |
Television Channel/Live Stream |
---|---|
United Kingdom |
SKY GO Extra, Sky Ultra HD, Sky Sports Football, Sky Sports Main Event |
United States |
ESPN+ |
Canada |
DAZN |
Middlesbrough team news
Matt Clarke is the only confirmed absentee for Boro, who were surprisingly beaten 4-2 at Huddersfield in their most recent outing. Dael Fry and Riley McGree could come back into the starting XI after being named on the bench for that defeat.
League top scorer Chuba Akpom will continue in attack alongside Cameron Archer, who has two goals and two assists in his last two league games.
Middlesbrough predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Steffen; Smith, Fry, Lenihan, Giles; Howson, Hackney; Forss, Akpom, McGree; Archer.
Burnley team news
Clarets boss Kompany also has a relatively fit squad, with Darko Churlinov the only player to definitely miss out.
Manuel Benson may drop out of the starting XI for Vitinho, but otherwise it’ll likely be a similar team to the one that drew 0-0 with Sunderland last time out.
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Burnley predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Muric; Roberts, Harwood-Bellis, Maatsen; Cullen, Brownhill; Vitinho, Tella, Zaroury; Barnes.
Burnley know they could be in position to secure automatic promotion on Friday night if Luton lose in the day’s early kick off at Millwall, who are themselves firmly in the mix for a play-off position in fifth.
Position |
Team |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Goal Difference |
Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. |
Burnley |
38 |
24 |
12 |
2 |
45 |
84 |
2. |
Sheffield United |
38 |
22 |
7 |
9 |
26 |
73 |
3. |
Middlesbrough |
39 |
20 |
7 |
12 |
25 |
67 |
4. |
Luton Town |
39 |
18 |
13 |
8 |
13 |
67 |
5. |
Millwall |
39 |
17 |
10 |
12 |
8 |
61 |
6. |
Blackburn Rovers |
38 |
19 |
4 |
15 |
0 |
61 |
However, Carrick’s Boro are not a side to skip over and will have designs on winning this game to boost their own automatic promotion hopes. They sit third, six points off Sheffield United having played a game more.
It has all the makings for a fun spectacle on Friday night.
Prediction: Middlesbrough 2-2 Burnley
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