TUXtra’s Sam Robson previews this weekend’s clash between Middlesbrough and Watford at the Riverside Stadium.
Middlesbrough take on Watford at home this Saturday after both coming off heavy losses midweek. Each team will be looking to bounce back after bad runs of form for each side. Watford picking up only 12 points in their last 14 matches, and winless in their last five. Middlesbrough have lost three on the bounce, including to local rivals Sunderland, making it the first time the Black Cats have done the double over Boro in over 50 years.
Following a third consecutive loss for Middlesbrough, boss Michael Carrick will be feeling the pressure, with the club way off where the fans expect it to be, both in terms of performances and league position. A loss could spell doom for the longest serving manager in the EFL Championship as fans are growing tired and frustrated with the lack of results. Although highly rated, Carrick has recently faced heavy criticism due to his perceived stubbornness in regards to Boro’s way of playing.
Going into the game on Saturday, both sets of fans will be expecting their teams to put in better performances than recently, with defensive frailties for both sides meaning they are too easy to score against, Watford especially, only keeping one clean sheet since December. On the contrary, Middlesbrough have a lot of attacking firepower, boasting the feat of having scored the second most goals in the division, only behind first place Leeds. Despite losing star attacker Emmanuel Latte Lath to Atlanta United in January for a club record fee, Middlesbrough have still scored three goals in two games with Delano Burgzorg finding form, scoring three goals in three matches, despite poor team performances.
Boro will hope to exploit Watford’s defensive weaknesses whilst also eradicating their own. They will be attempting to make their way back into the playoff places after falling to ninth following the midweek loss to Sheffield United and other teams around them winning.
Middlesbrough’s poor performances often come from individual mistakes and sloppy passing, owing to a concerning lack of depth defensively, paired with injuries, both short-term and long-term, meaning Michael Carrick consistently needs to start players who are either not in their preferred position or that are constantly making mistakes which can cost Boro points.
Ultimately, Middlesbrough will be favourites over Watford due to the quality that many of their players have, although the fan response from the last few results will be crucial, as a flat home atmosphere has been shown to negatively impact performances when Boro play at home.
With the gulf in quality in mind, I believe Middlesbrough will emerge as victors at the Riverside, with the full-time whistle being blown at 2-0 to Boro, with goals being scored by Burgzorg and Conway. A defensively frail Watford, in my opinion, will not be able to handle the speed and technicality of the Boro forwards, leading to the men in red finding it easy to get through and score goals.
