Having lost 3 of their last 4 matches in the Championship heading into the international break, Middlesbrough find themselves in early relegation trouble as Saturday’s hosts are just two league positions and two points above the bottom three.
This wasn’t the kind of start that new Middlesbrough boss, Jonathan Woodgate, would have envisaged when he took over the reigns at the Riverside Stadium after replacing former manager, Tony Pulis.
🔴 Ahead of #Boro's tie with #WBA this weekend, we compare the stats of midfielders Jonny Howson and @29_JL 👇 #EFL pic.twitter.com/YXy0X2otHF— Middlesbrough StatZone (@MiddlesbroughSZ) October 16, 2019
🔴 Ahead of #Boro's tie with #WBA this weekend, we compare the stats of midfielders Jonny Howson and @29_JL 👇 #EFL pic.twitter.com/YXy0X2otHF
Woodgate promised an attacking brand of football under his leadership but there’s been little evidence of this despite starting the season with a 3-3 draw away at Luton Town on the opening night of the Championship season.
Boro have managed just 2 league wins so far this term, which were both recorded at the Riverside Stadium and both by 1-0 margins against Wigan Athletic and Reading respectively, who both occupy positions in the bottom six of the Championship.
Results at home have produced a mixed return to date with 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats and although they’ve lost just 2 of their last 9 matches on home turf, recent results suggest they could be in for a long afternoon against West Brom on Saturday.
Onto West Brom, and the visitors duly bounced back from their 1-0 hiccup away at Leeds United last time out in the Championship as they headed into the international break on the back of a 4-2 home win against Cardiff City.
Before the new season began, there were serious questions as to whether West Brom could cope without the departing firepower of forwards Gayle, Rodriguez and Barnes who contributed a total of 54 goals between them last season.
In addition, former West Ham manager, Slaven Bilic, had been installed as the permanent manager, replacing the caretaker-manager, Jimmy Shan, who had failed to guide The Baggies through last season’s play-offs.
Fast-forward to mid-October though, and West Brom proudly sit top of the Championship after making an impressive start to this new campaign, losing just once in their first 11 matches of this new term, and collecting 6 wins in the process.
The defeat at Leeds put an end to a promising 5-match unbeaten start on their travels, but with wins at Nottingham Forest, Luton Town and QPR, they’ll be reasonably confident of nicking all three points against a lacklustre Middlesbrough outfit on Saturday.