Skip to main content

Matchday Thread - Middlesboro v PNE (22/1/11)

Matchday Thread - Middlesboro v PNE (22/1/11)

gazzaholly

gazzaholly

Dreaming hard about promotion...
Staff member
Joined
Jun 7, 2004
Messages
1,791
Location
Preston
mdt-title.png

Middlesboro v Preston North End
Saturday 22th January 2011. Kick off 3pm​

Please use this thread to post comments on this match.​

A man-of-the match poll will be posted shortly after the game.​



​

Match Information (From BBC Sport)

TEAM NEWS
Middlesbrough will be without Justin Hoyte, who limped off against Bristol City with a hamstring injury and has been ruled out for up to a month. Joe Bennett picked up a knock in training on Thursday and will be assessed ahead of the game.
Preston's on-loan Blackburn midfielder Amine Linganzi looks likely to miss out with a groin injury.
Youngster Conor McLaughlin jarred his knee against Leicester and is also expected to be sidelined.

MATCH PREVIEW
Middlesbrough, unbeaten in four league games and fresh from a 4-0 thrashing of Bristol City last time out, finally seem to have turned a corner. So they will not want to slip up against the Championship's bottom side, who are looking for their first win under new manager Phil Brown.
Ominously for North End, while Boro have had major problems this season they have shown little mercy towards other struggling teams, winning all four of their matches against sides in the bottom four.
Brown is trying to engineer the kind of recovery Tony Mowbray has since being appointed as Boro boss, but he faces a tough task. Preston, whose last win against the Teessiders was in April 1972, are three points adrift at the bottom and have won only one of their last 12 league matches.
Boro's recent bounce has been in no small part down to the form of striker Leroy Lita, who has netted four goals in his last four league games. He may relish the opportunity to continue that hot streak against a team that has been woeful at the back.

MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
• A win for Middlesbrough would be the club's 25th at home to Preston.
o.gif

• Boro are unbeaten in seven league matches against North End.
Middlesbrough
• Only eight players have scored league goals for Boro this season.
• The Teessiders have lost half of their league matches (13 of 26).
• Gary O'Neil is in line for his 300th league appearance and Andrew Taylor his 150th.
Preston
• Preston have lost 60% of their league matches this season (15 of 25) and have won only two of their last 16.
• They have kept only three clean sheets, and have squandered more points from winnng positions (21) than any other team in the division.
• Darren Carter is hoping to make his 200th career league appearance.
 
Last edited:
Well no signings so we will have to go into this with attitude and determination to make up for lack of resources. It will doubtless be the same formation as last time but with Nicholson most likely replacing Linganzi. What we will do if McLaughlin is not fit is a tough one - I would switch Jones back to the right and use either Barton or Treacy on the left. The return of Coutts would be a big bonus, but is he fit. Upfront the only issue is whether Ellington should start ahead of Hayes. If he is fit enough to last 70 minutes or so then that would probably be better than 20 minutes at the end. Massive game but then they all are now.
 
I think if McLoughlin is not fit our best bet would be Parry on th eleft as he is more defensive than Barton and Treacy.
Maybe if Brown is fit we might have Brown Cort and Morgan as centre halves and SSL as right wing back, he has the pace to cause problems. And boro where dangerous down the left last time.
 
Back
Top