Middlesbrough will kick off their pre-season schedule with a friendly at non-league Bishop Auckland on Saturday afternoon with kickoff at 3 pm.
With a respectable start to life at the Riverside Stadium, it looks like new manager Chris Wilder is building a squad and a platform that can take the club back into contention for promotion.
A number of fresh faces have arrived at the club, including the notable addition of Blackburn Rovers defender Darragh Lenihan on a free transfer.
Boro also beat a number of rivals to the signing of Wolverhampton Wanderers wide player Ryan Giles, while it is all change between the sticks. United States international Zack Steffen is on the brink of signing on a season-long loan from Manchester City, with Liam Roberts being brought in from Northampton Town as one of his deputies.
The presence of senior members such as Sol Bamba, Neil Taylor and Lee Peltier will be missed, but it provides Wilder with greater freedom to make further changes over the next two months. Middlesbrough are no strangers to opening pre-season at Bishop Auckland.
In fact, the club won their last visit there by a 3-0 scoreline ahead of the last campaign. Bishop Auckland narrowly avoided relegation from Northern League Division One in the spring, finishing in 18th position with just 35 points from 38 games.
Bishop Auckland vs Middlesbrough Head to Head
Both sides are yet to face against each other and this marks their first encounter. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Bishop Auckland 0-3 Middlesbrough
- Celtic 3-0 Auckland
- Auckland 1-4 Darlington
- Auckland 0-2 Darlington
Away
- Preston North End 4-1 Middlesbrough
- Middlesbrough 3-1 Stoke City
- Middlesbrough 2-0 Cardiff City
- Swansea City 1-1 Middlesbrough
Bishop Auckland Team News
Given that this is the first of just five matches, Wilder will likely look to hand minutes to all of his available players. Paddy McNair was involved in Northern Ireland’s UEFA Nations League fixtures until the middle of June and will not be considered for this contest.
Middlesbrough Team News
As Djed Spence is not a part of Wilder’s plans, he will not feature in the match. However, Lenihan will. Even though Bishop Auckland started pre-season training several days ahead of Middlesbrough, manager Hardy could opt to select what he views as his strongest team.
Prediction and Odds
While this fixture is more about fitness than anything else, Wilder will still want to see a positive start to the summer, and we expect Boro to run out comfortable victors in the North-East.
- Middlesbrough Win
- Goals Over 2.5
- No Score: Home
Middlesbrough will kick off their pre-season schedule with a friendly at non-league Bishop Auckland on Saturday afternoon with kickoff at 3 pm.
With a respectable start to life at the Riverside Stadium, it looks like new manager Chris Wilder is building a squad and a platform that can take the club back into contention for promotion.
A number of fresh faces have arrived at the club, including the notable addition of Blackburn Rovers defender Darragh Lenihan on a free transfer.
Boro also beat a number of rivals to the signing of Wolverhampton Wanderers wide player Ryan Giles, while it is all change between the sticks. United States international Zack Steffen is on the brink of signing on a season-long loan from Manchester City, with Liam Roberts being brought in from Northampton Town as one of his deputies.
The presence of senior members such as Sol Bamba, Neil Taylor and Lee Peltier will be missed, but it provides Wilder with greater freedom to make further changes over the next two months. Middlesbrough are no strangers to opening pre-season at Bishop Auckland.
In fact, the club won their last visit there by a 3-0 scoreline ahead of the last campaign. Bishop Auckland narrowly avoided relegation from Northern League Division One in the spring, finishing in 18th position with just 35 points from 38 games.
Bishop Auckland vs Middlesbrough Head to Head
Both sides are yet to face against each other and this marks their first encounter. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Bishop Auckland 0-3 Middlesbrough
- Celtic 3-0 Auckland
- Auckland 1-4 Darlington
- Auckland 0-2 Darlington
Away
- Preston North End 4-1 Middlesbrough
- Middlesbrough 3-1 Stoke City
- Middlesbrough 2-0 Cardiff City
- Swansea City 1-1 Middlesbrough
Bishop Auckland Team News
Given that this is the first of just five matches, Wilder will likely look to hand minutes to all of his available players. Paddy McNair was involved in Northern Ireland’s UEFA Nations League fixtures until the middle of June and will not be considered for this contest.
Middlesbrough Team News
As Djed Spence is not a part of Wilder’s plans, he will not feature in the match. However, Lenihan will. Even though Bishop Auckland started pre-season training several days ahead of Middlesbrough, manager Hardy could opt to select what he views as his strongest team.
Prediction and Odds
While this fixture is more about fitness than anything else, Wilder will still want to see a positive start to the summer, and we expect Boro to run out comfortable victors in the North-East.
- Middlesbrough Win
- Goals Over 2.5
- No Score: Home
