Michael Carrick will be hoping to see his Middlesbrough side improve in one key area in the coming games.
Middlesbrough are back in Championship action this weekend with a home meeting against Bristol City.
Boro head into the game sat ninth in the league table but could climb back into the top six if they secure three points against the Robins.
Middlesbrough lost 2-1 to Watford in their last Championship fixture despite dominating the Hornets for large periods.
Despite their mixed form in the early stages of 2024/25, Michael Carrick has seen his men dominate the second tier in several areas.
Star midfielder Hayden Hackney is leading the Championship in three key stats after his recent upturn in form.
Elsewhere, though he did not move from Liverpool until August 31st and has only started less than a handful of games, Ben Doak is leading the Championship in one crucial stat.
Middlesbrough only ahead of Cardiff City in one key area
As already mentioned, the Teessiders are still firmly in the mix for a play-off place after nine games of the season.
However, despite Boro impressing at times and leading the Championship in some departments, Carrick’s men rank 23rd in one crucial stat – only above 24th-place Cardiff City who have won just one of their opening nine ties.
As per Opta, while Middlesbrough have created the best-quality chances in the Championship in 2024/25 and they are among the best-performing defensive sides, the North East outfit’s shot conversion rate of 6.3 percent is the second lowest in the division.
Cardiff are the only team with a lower shot conversation rate as we prepare to welcome club football back (4.2 percent).
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How Middlesbrough can fix major Championship problem
Boro fans will likely be concerned by their side’s inability to convert chances and rightly so.
If expected points were taken into account, Middlesbrough would be top of the Championship with 18 points.
However, they are currently outside of the top-six but that should not cause too much panic at this stage.
As mentioned above, Middlesbrough have created the best-quality chances in the league this term and it should only be a matter of time before those efforts finally turn into goals.
Emmanuel Latte Lath is yet to score an open-play goal in 2024/25 but the Ivorian has already proven he has the ability to hit double figures in the Championship.
He scored 11 in his last 12 league games of 2023/24 after a slow start and once Latte Lath gets firing, Carrick should see his side rack up more wins and quickly climb up the league table.