Preview: West Bromwich Albion vs. Middlesbrough - prediction, team news, lineups

West Bromwich Albion will be aiming to record back-to-back home wins in the Championship when they welcome struggling Middlesbrough to The Hawthorns on Saturday afternoon.

The Baggies have endured an indifferent start to their third-straight season in the second tier, while Boro are yet to bounce back from playoff disappointment last term.

Match preview

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West Brom picked up their first away point of the campaign last Friday night with a hard-earned draw at Elland Road against recently-relegated Leeds United.

The Baggies got their noses in front thanks to a fortuitous goal from striker Brandon Thomas-Asante, but a second-half onslaught from the hosts led to Luke Ayling rising above Erik Pieters to grab an equaliser.

Carlos Corberan is taking charge of his first full season in the Black Country, and with finances tightening as the club no longer receives parachute payments from the Premier League, promotion is more of a dream than an ambition this season.

Despite their struggles to escape the second tier since returning in 2021, West Brom have largely been a difficult side to face at The Hawthorns, and Corberan's men got their home campaign off to a winning start by beating Swansea City 3-2 on August 12.

With a pair of home fixtures to come before the season's first international break, Albion will be looking to extend their tally to 10 points from five matches at the start of a crucial term for the future of the club.

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Middlesbrough earned their maiden point of the second-tier campaign with a 1-1 draw against Neil Warnock's Huddersfield Town last Saturday at the Riverside Stadium.

With a Chuba Akpom-shaped hole in the Boro attack, new arrival Emmanuel Latte Lath started up front for the hosts, who needed a second-half strike from midfielder Hayden Hackney to force a share of the spoils.

None of last season's playoff losers have commenced this campaign in impressive fashion, but Boro have been the worst of the bunch, managing to collect just the single point from three matches so far.

Michael Carrick's men will want to make amends following their last away trip, with strikes from Matt Godden, Haji Wright and an own-goal from centre-back Darragh Lenihan handing Coventry City a comfortable victory in the East Midlands a fortnight ago.

Last season's meeting between Albion and Boro at The Hawthorns ended in a 2-0 win for the hosts, with striker Daryl Dike netting a quick-fire brace for the Baggies - Carrick and company will not have to worry about the American this time around, however, due to injury.

Team News

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West Brom boss Corberan decided to switch to a forward two of Jed Wallace and Thomas-Asante for the trip to face Daniel Farke's Whites in Yorkshire, but expect the Spaniard to revert to a more familiar 4-2-3-1 formation on Saturday.

Cedric Kipre has earned the trust of the Baggies head coach since the beginning of pre-season, but the Frenchman may be dropped to allow Semi Ajayi and Pieters to be the central-defensive pairing of a back four.

Conor Townsend experienced a rare game out of the starting XI last time out, although considering the 30-year-old has a monopoly on the left-back position in a flat four, he should be in from the start for this one.

Middlesbrough will be without the services of Anfernee Dijksteel as the right-back continues to recover from an injury sustained in the club's pre-season preparations.

Tom Smith is another full-back who is set to be sidelined for Boro - the 31-year-old enjoyed a successful debut campaign on Teesside after making the move from Stoke City last summer.

West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:

Palmer; Furlong, Ajayi, Pieters, Townsend; Yokuslu, Molumby, Phillips, Swift, Wallace; Thomas-Asante

Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:

Dieng; Van den Berg, Fry, Lenihan, Engel; Howson, Hackney, Forss, Rogers, Silvera; Lath

We say: West Bromwich Albion 2-1 Middlesbrough

West Brom have looked vulnerable on the road so far this season, but back-to-back home games in the next week will hand the Baggies a real opportunity to find some consistency.

Boro have not looked like the same team who threatened to catch Sheffield United in the automatic-promotion race last term, and we are expecting another loss for Boro in the Black Country.

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