Middlesbrough host Sunderland in the Premier League this evening.
General view of Middlesbrough’s Riverside stadium
After Newcastle United made headline news for all the wrong reasons on Wednesday morning, the spotlight now shifts 42 miles down the road to Middlesbrough, where another beleaguered north-east outfit Sunderland are the visitors for what’s known in the business as a relegation ‘six-pointer’.
The Premier League’s bottom two clubs have all but given up hope of avoiding taking Newcastle’s place in next season’s Championship, with nine (Boro) and 12 (Sunderland) points dividing the pair and Hull City, the 17th-placed side they are looking to catch.
A win now, however, with six (Boro) and seven (Sunderland) games still to play afterwards could spark a run that leads to the most unlikely of survivals.
Middlesbrough are without Victor Valdes, Gaston Ramirez and Grant Leadbitter, although Marten de Roon returns to Steve Agnew’s starting lineup despite being forced off against Bournemouth.
Sunderland are unchanged, with Sebastian Larsson and Bryan Oviedo still sidelined alongside long-term absentees Duncan Watmore, Jan Kirchhoff and Paddy McNair.
This is how the two teams line up at the Riverside:
Middlesbrough lineup
Starting:
- Brad Guzan
- Daniel Ayala
- Calum Chambers
- George Friend
- Ben Gibson
- Adam Clayton
- Marten de Roon
- Stewart Downing
- Adam Forshaw
- Álvaro Negredo
- Cristhian Stuani
Substitutes: Dimitrios Konstantopoulos, Bernardo, Fabio, Adama Traoré, Patrick Bamford, Viktor Fischer, Rudy Gestede.
Sunderland lineup
Starting:
- Jordan Pickford
- Jason Denayer
- Billy Jones
- Javier Manquillo
- John O’Shea
- Lee Cattermole
- Darron Gibson
- Wahbi Khazri
- Didier Ndong
- Victor Anichebe
- Jermain Defoe
Substitutes: Vito Mannone, Lamine Koné, Joleon Lescott, Adnan Januzaj, Steven Pienaar, Jack Rodwell, Fabio Borini.
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