Middlesbrough are looking to make up for a poor result last time out as they face Portsmouth away from home in the Championship this weekend.
- Date: 08/24/2024
- Kick-off time: 10:00 AM ET
- Location: Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough currently sit 11th in the Championship with three points from their first two games. Middlesbrough are strong promotion hopefuls this season after two impressive campaigns on the bounce under Michael Carrick, and given they entered this season in much more settled circumstances than they did last time out there is a belief they can go all the way this time around.
Middlesbrough have been up and down in terms of performances, but their start to the season has definitely yielded more positives than it has negatives. They signed Bristol City striker Tommy Conway in the week, meaning they now possess a very impressive amount of attacking firepower at this level.
There is still a minor concern over whether Middlesbrough can keep hold of star midfielder Hayden Hackney. The England U21 man has been linked with numerous clubs over the past year or so and while transfer rumors involving his name have quietened down a lot, there is still time for a wealthy Premier League club to swoop in.
Regardless, the squad is looking forceful at present and if they can keep everyone fit and avoid another injury crisis, à la last season, they'll likely be a real threat.
Middlesbrough's home form needs to be strong this season as they seek a top six finish, so games at the Riverside against newly promoted opposition cannot result in anything other than a win from their perspective.
Portsmouth currently sit 15th in the Championship with two points from their first two games. Despite facing an exceptionally tough start to the season on paper, it’s been an extremely impressive start to the season for the Championship new boys.
Portsmouth lost a couple of big players from last season's promotion-winning team in the summer through the expiration of loan deals, and to make matters worse they also came into this campaign missing one of their star attackers, Colby Bishop, owing to a health condition, so to deliver the results, they have under these circumstances is worthy of applause.
There was an expectation among many that Portsmouth would avoid relegation coming into the campaign, but the level of resolve they’ve shown early doors will have fans believing they can have a pretty comfortable season.
Portsmouth will still want to add quality to their ranks before the transfer window shuts, and there is talk about Chelsea’s Tino Anjorin coming back for a second straight loan spell, so their eventual ceiling could end up being even higher.
Pompey’s start to the season isn’t getting much easier with this fixture, but if they can pick up points here they’ll be mightily pleased.
Four of the last five head-to-head meetings between the two teams have resulted in draws, but these two haven’t locked horns since March 2012, when Middlesbrough recorded a 3-1 win at Fratton Park.
Championship 
