Baggies look to bounce back at Boro

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·19 September 2025

Baggies look to bounce back at Boro

Middlesbrough v West Bromwich Albion; Riverside Stadium, Friday 19th September 2025, 8pm

Albion will look to bounce back from their home defeat to Derby County as they visit the top of the table side for the second away game in succession. Last time, of course, they took all three points at Stoke City and the Baggies will be hoping to open their league campaign on the road with three victories for the second season in succession.

Of course, last season, that was as good as it got on the road with Albion winning just once more away from the Hawthorns in the remainder of the campaign. That is something that needs to change if Ryan Mason’s team are to challenge for promotion this season.

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The statistics from the match against the Rams last weekend were well stacked in the hosts’ favour, as they were in the cup match against them a few weeks earlier, but the most important statistic meant that it was the visitors who took the points and County are fast becoming Albion’s new bogey side! The Baggies’ general play was more than good enough to win the game and, with a little more luck, they would have done, but there is a nagging feeling that they still lack a cutting edge.

With Tammer Bany, Daryl Dike and Karlan Grant all unavailable, Mason indicated that Josh Maja is ready to start having been nursed back from his long term injury, but I’m not sure that will happen at the Riverside. Bany and Dike are, reportedly, close to a return to training, but that would suggest that their involvement in games is probably not going to come before the next international break. Krystian Bielik is back in training and available for selection, but I would only expect him to strengthen the bench.

In fact, I would be surprised to see any changes from the eleven that started against Derby – perhaps Iling-Junior might be used from the start in place of Wallace, and maybe a little more time training with the team might have given Gilchrist the opportunity to force himself into Mason’s thinking for a starting place.

Middlesbrough scored late at Deepdale to maintain their unbeaten league start to the season and it would seem that the decision to swap Carrick for Edwards has had an immediate impact. I’ve always liked Edwards as a coach but he hasn’t been a success everywhere and it remains to be seen whether his positive influence at the Riverside will be maintained over the longer term. All but one of their victories this season have been by the odd goal, and their 4-0 home defeat by Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup suggests that the squad may be short of strength in depth.

They did, of course, make a few more additions after that mid-August defeat including forwards Sontje Hansen, Kaly Sène and David Strelec, but, bar Hansen’s stoppage time equaliser off the bench at Preston, none of them have made a huge impact so far. The departure of Emmanuel Latte Lath in the summer left a huge hole in their forward line which, for the time being, is being filled by 23-year-old Scottish international Tommy Conway who has two goals to his name this season. Morgan Whittaker continues to offer a threat off the right side while former Baggie, Finn Azaz, is also a dangerous prospect. One new face who has made an immediate impact is left back, Matt Target, who joined on loan from Newcastle United and registered both a goal and an assist in his full debut at Deepdale last week.

This will obviously be Albion’s sternest test of the season so far, but it is not one they should be afraid of. Mason’s team have played well in every game, have maximum points on the road and playing against a team that wants to be on the front foot should suit them better than playing one whose first thought is to defend. A point would be a good result, but there is nothing to suggest that the Baggies could not take all three.

History

Teesside has never been a particularly happy hunting ground for the Baggies with only nine victories away to Boro in 53 attempts in all competitions, with the hosts coming on top 31 times. Since they moved to the Riverside Stadium in 1995, Albion have triumphed on three occasions, most recently in October 2019 when Hal Robson-Kanu grabbed a late winner for Slaven Bilić’s team.

There is, of course, one stand out result that is impossible to ignore when previewing this fixture, and it just so happens that Friday’s match is on the 16th anniversary of that remarkable match when Roberto di Matteo’s Albion scored five goals away to Gareth Southgate’s Middlesbrough on 19th September 2009.

What many will not remember is that, like this season, both clubs were amongst the early pace-setters. The Baggies were top of the league with five wins and two draws from their opening seven fixtures, while Boro’ were just one place and one point behind. Few could have foreseen such an emphatic win for the visitors.

On the day, Chris Brunt scored twice, including a stand-out strike from 50 yards after Danny Coyne’s clearance went astray, while Jerome Thomas scored the fifth with what was his first goal for the club. Mulumbu and Bednár scored Albion’s other goals in the 5-0 hammering.

It certainly burst Boro’s early-season balloon and they would go on to finish 11th, with the Baggies, of course, claiming automatic promotion.