Our prediction for this Championship match:
Rock-bottom Nottingham Forest will look to record their first win of the season when they take on Middlesbrough on Wednesday evening. Head coach Chris Hughton is under big pressure ahead of the midweek clash, meaning that his men are likely to leave their hearts on the field this time out. Defender Jordi Osei-Tutu is the only absentee in the home team ahead of the visit of Boro.
The visitors, on the other hand, are determined to put an end to their four-game winless run. Considering that both Forest and Boro are likely to go for a win in Wednesday’s showdown, we are tempted to put our money on both teams to score. Marcus Browne remains on the sidelines with an ACL injury, but there are no suspended players in the away team ahead of the trip to Nottinham.
Highlighted Player (Jack Colback):
After spending nine years at Sunderland youth academy, Jack Colback signed a loan deal with Ipswich Town on 6 August, 2009. The left-footed midfielder, who is capable of playing at left back as well, made 37 appearances for the Championship side, scoring four goals in the English second tier.
Against all odds, Colback decided to sign for Sunderland’s bitterest rivals Newcastle United on 9 June, 2014 and it has to be noted he became the first player to move directly from Sunderland to Newcastle since 1998 when Lionel Perez did the same. In 2015 Sunderland fans created a sick banner depicting Colback hanging with a noose around his neck and that caused uproar on social media.
Colback and his teammates from Newcastle dropped to the Championship at the end of the 2015/2016 season, but he decided not to leave the club. Colback scored 5 goals in 64 appearances for Newcastle United in the Premier League. He is well known for his passing skills, he rarely gives the ball away and journalist often compare him with Italy ace Andrea Pirlo.
Highlighted Team (Middlesbrough):
Middlesbrough is a professional football club that have been balancing between the top two divisions of England’s league system in the modern history. Boro have been playing their home games at the Riverside Stadium since 1995 and their shirt colour is red. The capacity of the Riverside Stadium is 34,742. Middlesbrough impressed in the 2015/2016 Championship campaign and they did really well to secure promotion to the English top flight. Newcastle United and Sunderland are regarded as the club’s main rivals, but there is a rivalry with Leeds United as well.
Middlesbrough made it to the FA Cup final in 1997, but Chelsea proved to be a big catch for the Boro in the title game (0-2). However, the Riverside Stadium outfit did remarkably well to win the League Cup trophy in 2004, with the team beating Bolton Wanderers in the final. George Boateng, Stewart Downing, Juninho Paulista, Gareth Southgate, Jonathan Woodgate, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Tuncay Sanli and Hamilton Ricard are the star footballers who left their mark at Middlesbrough.