As Championship clubs pass the ten game marker and start to settle into their stride, we take a look at the early season fortunes of Middlesbrough and their north east counterparts Sunderland ahead of the big, lunchtime clash.
Sunderland are at their familiar Stadium of Light for the 12.30 kick-off, but Boro will bring plenty of fans in good voice in what promises to be a raucous atmosphere.
Michael Carrick and his squad will be quietly confident after a recent string of impressive results. Recording only 2 points from the first 7 league matches, they have since won 3 on the bounce, taking the scalps of Southampton, Watford and an improved Cardiff City along the way.
Boro taking their chances
The rhythm has taken a while to establish, but they are beginning to gain some traction, looking more and more like the side that entertained many last season. Players like Riley McGree and Isaiah Jones are finding their groove and improvement is coming with every game.
Carrick has maintained a calm and unperturbed demeanour throughout the season, and is now reaping the rewards. Even a number of the new arrivals, who on occasions, had looked out of their depth, are now pushing for places in the first eleven with their performances. One of those is Sam Greenwood, whose family are Sunderland fans. He will be hoping to have done enough to keep his place after a positive showing against Cardiff.
Scoring goals and taking their chances was an issue for Boro during the first few games, which is a problem if your style of play means you tend to concede goals. That has been remedied of late, with the side sharing the burden right across the team. Boro have plenty of quality and creativity in attacking midfield areas to help out the strikers.
What will have pleased Boro’s head coach in their win against Cardiff, is the clean sheet. It was their first of the season, and came ironically with more defenders unavailable than at any point so far during this campaign.
Sunderland on form
Sunderland also endured a tough start to their campaign, losing their first two league matches and getting dumped out of the Carabao Cup against Crewe Alexandra.
Similarly to Boro, they seemed to be struggling to accommodate their new signings into the side cohesively. Their slump however, did not last as long as Boro’s and they kick-started their season with a dominant display with a 5-0 victory against Southampton.
Since swatting away the Saints convincingly, they have won five out of the last six, their only blip coming against Cardiff City.
One of the catalysts for their current form is winger Jack Clarke. He is one of the division’s leading lights. He courted the attention of a host of clubs during the summer transfer window and has had to re-focus and get back to playing his football. Scoring 7 goals so far, he will be the danger man on Saturday.
Attacking game ahead
Carrick and Mowbray are both coaches who insist on playing attacking, free-flowing football. There will be fascinating battles all over the pitch. Clarke against Tommy Smith down Boro’s right-hand side, Riley McGree against Dan Neil, and the flair of young players like Hayden Hackney and Jobe Bellingham facing up against each other.
It makes for an exciting afternoon, both are in form, with Sunderland slightly ahead of where they will have expected to be (given their young squad age), and Boro maybe slightly behind, but very much getting into their stride.
Sunderland set up with a 4-1-4-1 formation, with Boro employing more of a 4-2-3-1. With attack very much the priority for these two clubs, it could come down to who defends better on the day.