‘Back to league line-up’ for Boro trip

Wednesday will revert our ‘league line-up’ when we return to Championship action at Middlesbrough on Saturday.

Garry Monk made eight changes to the starting line-up for the midweek Carabao Cup defeat to Everton but will no doubt go back, by and large at least, to the team that has taken four points from his first two league games in charge.

Of those who came in against Everton, Massimo Luongo is expected to be pushing for a starting place against Boro. Adam Reach could find himself dropped to the bench while Tom Lees is unlikely to be ready to return from his hamstring injury.

Monk will be taking on one of his former clubs in Middlesbrough and said ahead of the clash at the Riverside: “Of course you need to know what threat Middlesbrough pose in certain areas and prepare for that.

“But 90 per cent of what I do is on what we need to do and do well with our own principles. That’s what I’ve done since I came here and that’s what we’ve done this week.

“If we put what we know we can do on the pitch and do it to the kind of level we are trying to push for, as I’ve said many times, we have the quality to hurt teams as well.”

Fulham’s win over Wigan on Friday night means we have dropped to 10th place in the table with 13 points, three behind the play-off places, while Boro are back in 15th position on nine points.

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