Middlesbroughvs.Plymouth

Boro are still in with a chance of reaching the playoffs, while the Green Army are battling to avoid relegation, but start the Easter weekend bottom of the table.

Match preview

Middlesbrough are stumbling at the worst possible time, with back-to-back defeats seeing them fall away from the playoff places with just four games remaining.

Michael Carrick's men suffered defeat at Millwall last weekend, after losing on home soil to Leeds United, undoing a lot of the good work they put in when winning five across a seven-game spell shortly before.

Boro would have been fancied by many after that impressive streak, but it now looks set to go down to the wire, with Bristol City and Coventry City currently best placed to take the final two playoff spots.

Carrick's side are three points adrift of sixth place, but a healthy plus-10 goal difference could prove vitally important, especially if they can pick up a win here.

Sheffield Wednesday and Norwich City await in Boro's next two matches, and both have nothing left to play for, while they face the club bottom of the standings at home next, meaning they have got the most-favourable fixtures on paper.

A showdown with Coventry on the final day could turn out to be pivotal, in what may be a straight shootout for a playoff spot, but firstly, they must get the job done against a Plymouth side who will not go down without a fight.

Boro have won just two of their last nine games against the Green Army, and they have a dismal record on Good Friday, winning just 11 of their 51 matches played on this date.

Plymouth have also won on their last two visits to the Riverside, back in 2009, as well as a 2-0 victory here last February, meaning they have the opportunity to win three in a row away to Boro for the first time in their history.

Miron Muslic's men will enter the game riding the crest of a wave too, following their dramatic come-from-behind victory against Sheffield United last time out.

Heading into the final 10 minutes 1-0 down, goals from Ryan Hardie and Muhamed Tijani turned the game on its head to give Argyle a famous win at Home Park, keeping their survival hopes alive.

Only Sheffield Wednesday (21) have won more points from losing positions than Plymouth (18) in the Championship this season, and that accounts for almost half of their points this season (40).

Muslic's men remain bottom of the table heading into the gameweek though, level on points with Luton Town, but the bottom 10 are separated by just 10 points, so anything could happen in the final four games.

What is for sure is that Plymouth need to improve defensively, and away from home, because their tally of 82 goals conceded is 16 more than any other side in the division.

In 21 away games this season, Plymouth have won just once, taking a meagre nine points, scoring just eight goals and with a goal difference of minus-38, so home form will be crucial, but showdowns with Coventry and Leeds will be devilishly difficult.

Middlesbrough Championship form:

W

D

W

W

L

L

Plymouth Argyle Championship form:

W

L

D

W

L

W

Team News

Ben Doak remains the big miss in the Middlesbrough ranks, as the Liverpool loanee is still sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Goalkeepers Seny Dieng and Sol Brynn are absent, while there are further issues just in front across the back four, with Luke Ayling, Neto Borges and George Edmundson also on the treatment table.

Long-term absentees Alex Bangura and Darragh Lenihan are also not expected to return before the end of the season, in what is a lengthy injury list for the hosts.

Plymouth have not got as many injuries to deal with, but the absence of Ukrainian defender Maksym Talovierov is hugely significant, given the impact he has made since arriving in January.

Brendan Galloway is also out with a hip injury, while Muslic will hope to have Bosnian Nikola Katic back from a brief injury, even though Jordan Houghton and Kornel Szucs stepped in and performed stoically at centre-back last week.

Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:

Travers; Dijksteel, Howson, Van den Berg, Iling Junior; Morris, Hackney; Whittaker, Conway, Azaz; Iheanacho

Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:

Hazard; Szucz, Katic, Pleguezuelo; Mumba, Palsson, Randell, Ogbeta; Hardie, Tijani, Bundu

We say: Middlesbrough 3-1 Plymouth Argyle

Plymouth's away day troubles are there for all to see, with just one win on the road all season, and despite entering the fixture high on momentum following last week's crucial win, this will be another difficult assignment.

Written by

Andrew Delaney

Previews by email