Three days on from an uneventful first leg, Middlesbrough and Coventry City reconvene for their second Championship playoff semi-final showdown at the Riverside Stadium on Wednesday night.
The two Premier League hopefuls shook hands on a 0-0 draw at the Coventry Building Society Arena on Sunday, despite the presence of the Championship's two leading marksmen.
Match preview
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With 49 strikes between them in the regular season, the battle for attacking supremacy between 28-goal Middlesbrough hero Chuba Akpom and 21-goal Coventry talisman Viktor Gyokeres was expected to be an intriguing one on Sunday afternoon.
However, in a game that neither side evidently wanted to lose, clear-cut chances were at a premium. Coventry fired 11 shots during the course of the game, but not a single one hit the target, while Ben Wilson had to save the Sky Blues' bacon on a couple of occasions too.
While Coventry's resilience was rightly lauded, Michael Carrick's Middlesbrough will now enter Wednesday's second leg as firm favourites to get the job done in front of their own fans, although the hosts have been labouring through a sticky patch at the worst possible time.
Indeed, Carrick's men have now failed to win any of their last four games - scoring a mere two goals in those 360 minutes of football - and they have just two victories to show from their last nine affairs in the Championship, which does not make for pleasant reading whatsoever.
On the other hand, Sunday's scoreless battle snapped an eight-game streak without a clean sheet for Boro, who have netted in 14 successive league contests at the Riverside since a 0-0 draw versus Huddersfield Town in October, but Coventry's away-day specialities are well-documented.
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Not averse to playing mind games straight after the final whistle on Sunday, Coventry boss Mark Robins affirmed that his men will travel to the Riverside with the pressure firmly off their shoulders, while also bemoaning his side's distinct lack of ruthlessness in front of their own fans.
The Sky Blues, who have been absent from the top tier of English football for 22 years, may be possessing the underdogs label ahead of the second leg, but Robins's men established a reputation as one of the division's most difficult teams to beat in the second half of the regular season.
From their final 17 matches prior to the playoffs, Coventry only suffered one defeat - a shock 4-0 home drubbing at the hands of Stoke City - navigating their final seven fixtures unbeaten with three wins and four draws to their name.
Playing on unfamiliar territory has not fazed Robins's men either, as they enter the second leg having avoided defeat in nine successive away matches, and they have not conceded more than one goal in a fixture on their travels during the entirety of 2023 so far.
That streak includes a 1-1 draw with Boro at the Riverside Stadium as recently as May 8, and the hosts have just one win to boast about from their last five encounters with the Sky Blues, who can look forward to a Wembley meeting with Sunderland or Luton Town should their resilience on the road win out again.
Team News
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Middlesbrough came through Sunday's first leg without any fresh injury concerns to take into account, and Carrick received a double boost with the returns of Dael Fry and Marcus Forss to the matchday squad.
While Fry watched on from the bench for the entirety of the match, Forss was given a 20-minute run-out, and the 10-goal Finland forward could now come into contention to displace Isaiah Jones on the right flank.
Aaron Ramsey (ankle) and Jonny Howson (muscle) also travelled with the team to Coventry, but neither man was able to take part, and Carrick has so far remained tight lipped over the duo's chances of a second-leg comeback.
In contrast, Coventry boss Robins has admitted concern over midfield fulcrum Gustavo Hamer, who took a "whack" to the knee in the first leg but was able to see out the remainder of the game after several minutes of treatment.
However, Robins could not guarantee that Hamer would be available for the second leg, where Callum O'Hare (ACL), Fabio Tavares (Achilles), Kasey Palmer (hamstring) are set to miss out once more.
A fit-again Ben Sheaf will be on standby if Hamer is ultimately not passed fit, while Jamie Allen could threaten Josh Eccles's position in another possible midfield alteration.
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Steffen; Smith, McNair, Lenihan, Giles; Mowatt, Hackney; Forss, Akpom, McGree; Archer
Coventry City possible starting lineup:
Wilson; McNally, Doyle, McFazdean; Norton-Cuffy, Hamer, Kelly, Allen, Bidwell; Godden, Gyokeres
We say: Middlesbrough 1-0 Coventry City (Middlesbrough win 1-0 on aggregate)
Having failed to provide Gyokeres with the service he required on their own patch, Coventry should not experience better attacking fortunes in front of a raucous Riverside atmosphere, where Middlesbrough have hitherto found the back of the net for fun.
The Sky Blues can at least harness their defensive nous on rival territory to force another close contest, but we still expect Carrick's side to live up to expectations and seal their place in the final.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
