Middlesbrough will be looking to bounce back from their defeat to Burnley on Boxing Day when they face Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Aitor Karanka’s men followed up an impressive 3-0 win against a struggling Swansea at the Riverside Stadium with a late 1-0 loss to the Clarets at Turf Moor, with goalkeeper Victor Valdes’ late error proving to be costly.
It has been the story of Boro’s season as they have struggled to pick up a consistent run of results, but they can take confidence from some of their performances this term when they make the visit to the Theatre of Dreams.
They come up against a United side who are in fine form, having won their last four matches in the Premier League to move them to within four points of the top four.
Here are THREE reasons Boro will cause an upset at Old Trafford…
Away record against the big teams
Despite the fact they have largely been inconsistent this season and lie 15th in the Premier League table, some of Middlesbrough’s results on the road this term will give them hope of picking up points at Old Trafford.
Arsenal came into their fixture against Boro at the Emirates in October on the back of a six-match winning run in the top flight, but Aitor Karanka’s men produced an impressive goalless draw against the Gunners.
A fortnight later, Marten de Roon’s last-gasp equaliser gave them another point away at Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City – so they certainly have the quality against the top teams in the division.
Defensive record
While only Hull City have scored fewer goals than Boro in the Premier League this season, they have a mean defence at the other end of the pitch – and one that is certainly capable of keeping United’s in-form frontline in check.
Aitor Karanka’s men have conceded just 20 goals in their 18 top flight outings, which is the same as Manchester City and one less than second-placed Liverpool, but they will need the likes of Ben Gibson and Calum Chambers at centre-back to be in top form against Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Counter attack
As they have done in a number of their away matches in the Premier League this season, Aitor Karanka will surely set his side up to counter attack at Old Trafford and they certainly have the players to threaten Jose Mourinho’s men on the break.
The likes of Adama Traore, Gaston Ramirez and Cristhian Stuani could be particularly effective in an encounter where Boro will need to be clinical if they get any clear-cut chances – something they have struggled with this term.
