The Sky Bet Championship is back with a bang and under the spotlight for our featured game of the weekend.
Middlesbrough welcome Peterborough United to Teesside as 15th takes on 23rd place in the Championship.
📅 Match details
Middlesbrough and Peterborough will go head-to-head at the Riverside Stadium with a 15:00 kick-off on Saturday 16 October, as the Championship returns from the international break this weekend.
Referee John Busby will be the man in the middle for Saturday's clash, with Nick Greenhalgh and Craig Taylor running the line, and Samuel Barrott taking on the role of fourth official.
👔 At the helm
For Neil Warnock, the call of the managerial dugout has always been strong. After coming out of retirement to take the reins at Rotherham United and winning promotion to the Premier League with Cardiff City, Middlesbrough became the Sheffield-born boss’ next Club.
After the Teesside team registered a 10th placed finish last year, Warnock inked fresh terms to continue as Boro boss for the current campaign.
Back for a third spell in charge at the Weston Homes Stadium, Darren Ferguson re-joined the Posh in January 2019, replacing the outgoing Steve Evans.
The Scotsman guided Peterborough to back-to-back promotions from the Sky Bet League Two to the Championship between 2007 and 2009 in his first stint. He then returned for a second spell between 2011 and 2015, when he added a third promotion to his Posh CV, before moving onto pastures new with Doncaster Rovers, making it four promotions across three spells in charge of the Club in total.
🔑 Key man
It’s clear that there’s much more to come from Boro youngster Marcus Tavernier, who has clocked nine appearances to date this season.
One of the Club’s highest rated players, the Leeds-born midfielder broke through the ranks in 2017, featuring in the EFL Trophy before being handed his League debut.
Peterborough attacker Sammie Szmodics found the back of the net twice as the Posh fell to a 3-2 defeat to ex-employers Bristol City last time out in the Championship and the Irishman will be looking to pick up where he left off this afternoon.
The 26-year-old, who commanded a six-figure fee, has repaid that figure, after hitting double figures last season as Peterborough won promotion from League One.
📈 Form guide
Warnock’s Middlesbrough side are striving for consistency, having found wins hard to come by this season. Two victories and three defeats in September, along with a 2-0 defeat to Hull City to kick off October, saw the Teesside team head into the international break occupying a mid-table berth.
Peterborough, on the other hand, are without a win in three. Darren Ferguson’s men sit 23rd in the Championship standings, trailing the Tigers outside of the drop zone by a point. The Posh will be looking to bounce back from defeat to Bristol City, with Peterborough hoping to end their drought on the road.
| The last five | |
| Middlesbrough |
✅❌❌✅❌ |
| Peterborough United |
❌✅❌🤝❌ |
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