Middlesbrough continue their 2024 pre-season campaign this weekend with a meeting versus Harrogate Town.
Middlesbrough are set to play out their penultimate 2024 pre-season fixture on Wednesday, July 31st.
Michael Carrick will take his side to Wetherby Road for a meeting with Harrogate Town.
The Boro boss will be aiming to continue the fine run of form his first-team squad have showcased in pre-season so far.
Summer signing Delano Burgzorg scored his first-ever Middlesbrough goal in a 3-0 win over Bolton Wanderers.
This was followed a tight 1-0 win against Gateshead, which saw a returning Darragh Lenihan net the only goal over the course of 90 minutes.
Boro were not short of an attacking threat in their latest pre-season encounter, though, playing out an enthralling 5-3 clash with Doncaster Rovers this past Saturday.
Middlesbrough will kick off their meeting with Harrogate at 7:30pm BST on Wednesday.
Here is everything you need to know about the game…
Middlesbrough team news
Middlesbrough suffered heavily with injury during the 2023/24 Championship campaign.
Carrick had an average of 6.5 players missing per match and did not have a fully-fit squad at any point during the season.
Some of the stars who suffered long-term problems in the previous campaign have returned but several are still dealing with issues.
Tommy Smith and Marcus Forss are expected to miss the start of the 2024/25 Championship season, which begins for Boro on August 10th
Elsewhere, both Dael Fry and the aforementioned Leninhan were absent against Doncaster last week.
Speaking after the match, Carrick confirmed the duo’s absence was more down to managing minutes, rather than their recent injury issues:
He said: “We’re just managing them. Obviously, the Gateshead game was Darragh’s first one back. He’s been out for quite some time so we’re just managing that.
“Same with Dael really. It was a case of ‘do we bring him today or do we not bring him today?’.”
Alex Bangura is also a long-term absentee and will not feature this week.
How will Middlesbrough line up vs Harrogate Town
Carrick dropped a major hint over how his Middlesbrough side will line up versus Swansea City with his selection against Doncaster on Saturday.
Boro put out what, on paper, was arguably their strongest available eleven, with the only real debate if Fry will come back in for Matt Clarke in the centre of defence.
The Teessiders looked sharp against the Yorkshire outfit but Carrick should now use this Harrogate tie to give some fringe players a chance.
Fry and Leninhan should feature on Wednesday after missing out last week as they recover from their recent injury woes.
Aidan Morris is yet to start a pre-season game for Middlesbrough so could come into the starting line-up for the first time.
With Middlesbrough linked with a move for Tommy Conway, Josh Coburn should be given another chance to stake his claim for a role in the squad up front.
Academy starlets Sonny Finch and Law McCabe may also be given one final runout before the new campaign kicks off.
Here’s how we think Middlesbrough will line up against Harrogate on Wednesday…
Dieng (GK)
Ayling
Fry
Lenihan
Engel
McCabe
Morris
Finch
Azaz
Burgzorg
Coburn