Middlesbrough kick off their 2024 pre-season campaign this weekend with a meeting versus Bolton Wanderers.
Middlesbrough will begin their official pre-season schedule on Saturday, July 20th, versus Bolton Wanders.
Michael Carrick welcomed his first-team squad back to Rockliffe Park on June 24th and the Teessiders spent last week in Portugal for a warm-weather training camp.
Boro faced Vitoria SC in an unscheduled behind-closed-doors friendly on July 14th while away and lost 2-0 thanks to a brace from Jesus Ramirez.
Their proper pre-season takes place in England and kicks off on Saturday at 3pm BST against Bolton at Heritage Park.
Middlesbrough team news
Middlesbrough endured a nightmare injury crisis across the 2023/24 campaign.
Carrick had an average of 6.5 players missing per match last term, with several key stars out for large chunks of the season.
The likes of Hayden Hackney and Dael Fry have returned to full training over the summer and are back in contention.
However, three senior Middlesbrough players are expected to once again miss out when Boro face Bolton this weekend.
Tommy Smith, Darragh Lenihan, and Marcus Forss all missed the end of 2023/24 with long-term injuries and were also absent against Vitoria.
The trio travelled to Portugal but are still continuing individual programmes in a bid to return to full fitness, meaning the Bolton game will likely come too soon for them.
How will Middlesbrough line up vs Bolton Wanderers
As we are still in the early stages of pre-season, Carrick is expected to hand minutes to plenty of players over the course of the 90 minutes.
But with a Championship opener versus Swansea City now less than a month away, the Boro boss should be aiming to give his best eleven a chance to play together.
Smiths’ absence means Luke Ayling is all but guaranteed to start in the right-back role.
After missing out against Vitoria, Boro’s number one Seny Dieng should be between the sticks this weekend.
Limited options at left wing also means new signing Delano Burgzorg should start versus Bolton.
Here’s how we think Middlesbrough will line up against Boltonon Saturday…
Dieng (GK)
Ayling
Van den Berg
Clarke
Engel
Howson
Hackney
Jones
Azaz
Burgzorg
Latte Lath