Middlesbrough – West Bromwich Albion

The central match of the tour will not bring victory to the hosts.

The central match of the sixth matchday of the Championship will take place at the Riverside Stadium. After their last year-long visit to the Premier League, local Middlesbrough has been competing in the second tier of English football for the ninth consecutive season. For the past three years, the team has been managed by Michael Carrick, who has shown a regression year after year, finishing lower and lower in the league table. Finally, this summer, Boro was led by Rob Edwards. Coaching changes or some collective factors have impacted the team’s performance, but Middlesbrough has demonstrated its best season start in recent years. West Bromwich also harbours ambitions for promotion. They are similar to their upcoming opponents in that they too appointed a new head coach in the summer, bringing in the well-known Ryan Mason - a former Tottenham player who briefly served as the team's coach at Spurs. Betting agencies have made the home side the favourites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 2.16 on their victory. Middlesbrough undertook a meticulous transfer campaign during the off-season. The most expensive signings were Strelec from Slovan Bratislava and Malanda from Charlotte, for whom they paid around 15 million euros in total. Boro also strengthened their squad with lesser-known players and brought in young players on loan from Newcastle and Manchester City. Overall, Edwards has managed to unite old and new players into a cohesive team that started the Championship season with four victories. Only in the last round against Preston did Middlesbrough lose points for the first time and concede goals. They could have even lost, as they scored their second reply goal in the 90+2 minute. West Bromwich sold players for 9 million euros more than they purchased during the off-season. The Baggies have gone through the first part of the season almost on par with their upcoming opponent. In their last match of August, they recorded their first defeat of the season against Stoke City, beating the Potters on their home ground. Apparently, West Bromwich players underestimated Derby County due to their recent success, losing their first match of the season to them in the last round. The Baggies conceded a goal from the only shot on target by their opponents during the match and failed to convert any of their 18 shots on target. West Bromwich aims to correct the mistakes of the previous round with a successful performance at the Riverside.