MIDDLESBROUGH PREDICTED TEAM VS SOUTHAMPTON AS CARRICK WEIGHS UP HIS OPTIONS AFTER THE BREAK

Michael Carrick was still weighing up and assessing his Middlesbrough options after the international break, making predicting his starting line at Southampton on Friday a difficult task.

Marcus Forss and Riley McGree are both doubts for the game after picking up injuries while the Boro boss said there were no players who are close to returning who are expected to be close enough to start this one. And with players only returning from international duty throughout Wednesday ahead of the trip to Southampton, with Boro travelling on Thursday.

There will be a question about whether Carrick goes with the 3-4-3 he's been playing of late, or if he reverts back to the fluid 4-2-3-1 formation, as he did against Blackburn Rovers after Forss was forced off injured. Given Southampton's strengths, we're going for the three-man defence again.

GK - Seny Dieng - With four clean sheets in his last four appearances for club and country, Dieng is fine form of late. As well as a calming presence in helping Boro solidify at the back to turn around their form, he saved a penalty for Senegal on Tuesday to help them beat Benin 1-0. Playing that game in France, his travelling shouldn't be too impactful.

CB - Paddy McNair - Assuming Dael Fry is still not ready to return and Rav van den Berg remains out after missing the Blackburn game, Carrick's options to stick with a back three are limited. But Paddy McNair is in good form and captained Northern Ireland twice in the last fortnight, including in a 1-0 win over Scotland on Tuesday.

CB - Matt Clarke - After overcoming such a serious injury, Clarke might have his limitations as far as ball-playing is concerned but his defensive work cannot be questioned and his form of late has been central to Boro solidifying and building on solid foundations to earn ten points from a possible 12.

CB - Lukas Engel - If Van den Berg and Fry don't make it then Carrick will be forced to deploy one of his usual wing-backs at centre-back. While the choice in our prediction to with Engel over Ayling might seem strange given it was the Leeds loan man who played the role last time out, Carrick's limited options elsewhere means this one makes sense and is a role Engel played successfully in the first leg win over Chelsea.

RWB - Luke Ayling - While Ayling played at centre-back initially last time out due to Isaiah Jones' return to the side at wing-back, injuries to Forss and McGree, coupled with the long trip back from Australia for Sammy Silvera means moving Jones into a more advanced role makes sense.

CM - Jonny Howson - His return to the side in the last four has proven a huge boost for Boro with the balance he provides key to three wins and three clean sheets in the last four.

CM - Lewis O'Brien - Has really benefited from Howson's return too because it's allowed him a little extra freedom to carry the ball forward. In turn, it's helped him settle into the side more and we've started to see the best of O'Brien after a frustrating campaign disrupted by injury.

LWB - Luke Thomas - The Leicester loanee has so far really struggled to make much of an impact since his arrival late in the January transfer window. But he's yet to play at wing-back in the new system and with a potential need to get Isaiah Jones further up the pitch, this could be the perfect opportunity to give him another chance.

RF - Isaiah Jones - While it will likely need a slight tweak to the way McGree and Forss supported Latte Lath in recent games, Jones has plenty of capability to support Latte Lath with his pace in the attacking line up and ability to beat a man. He's a good presser too, and that could be key in this one against a Southampton side who didn't enjoy Boro's pressure from the forward line at the Riverside earlier in the season.

CF - Emmanuel Latte Lath - With Josh Coburn not understood to be quite ready to return to the starting line-up, keeping Latte Lath in is the obvious choice. His return of late has proven the importance of having a natural centre forward and he'll be hoping to finish this season as strongly as possible.

LF - Finn Azaz - Azaz returned to Boro on Wednesday fresh from making his international debut the night before in what was a brief but bright cameo from the bench. He'll no doubt be on a high after that and Boro could really do with him finding a piece of the magic he's capable of in this one if they are, as expected, to be without Marcus Forss and Riley McGree.

2024-03-28T10:51:57Z dg43tfdfdgfd