Crooks starts: The Middlesbrough XI that Michael Carrick should field v Sheffield United tonight | OneFootball

Middlesbrough will be looking to give their Championship promotion hopes a big boost tonight, when they travel to Bramall Lane to face Sheffield United.

Michael Carrick’s side go into that game third in the Championship table, having won 11 of their last 14 league matches.

That has lifted them to third, leading to growing hopes of securing a return to the Premier League come the end of this season.

With Sheffield United currently second in the standings, ten points ahead of ‘Boro, victory could be key to any hopes the hosts have of claiming automatic promotion this season.

So with that in mind, we’ve taken a look at the starting XI Carrick should name to give Middlesbrough the best possible chance of claiming all three points against Sheffield United, right here.

It is often hard to justify altering a winning team in football, so Carrick does not really need to make many alterations to the side that has been starting in recent games.

In goal, Manchester City loanee Zack Steffen has been first choice between the posts this season, so he should again start here.

Having conceded just once in ‘Boro’s last three games – and that from a ‘keeper error – the central defensive pairing of Darragh Lenihan and Paddy McNair ought to remain the same, meaning Dael Fry may again have to settle for a place on the bench.

Both Tommy Smith and on-loan Wolves man Ryan Giles have been thriving recently, meaning they ought to keep their full-back roles in the XI for this one.

Can you get 20/20 on this Middlesbrough quiz?

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Isaiah Jones Andraz Sporar Duncan Watmore Matt Crooks

In the centre of the park, the blend of youth and experience of Hayden Hackney and Jonny Howson has proved effective in recent weeks, so it makes sense to stick with that pairing, especially with doubts over whether Aston Villa loanee Aaron Ramsey will be fit to feature at Bramall Lane.

Marcus Forss continued his fine recent scoring form in the 3-1 win at Cardiff on Saturday, when Riley McGree also got on the scoresheet, so they should start either side of the Championship’s top scorer Chuba Akpom, who has been a revelation in the number ten role this season.

One change that Carrick could be forced into making is at centre forward, where another Villa loan man, Cameron Archer, is also a doubt for fitness reasons.

That could mean that Matt Crooks could return to the starting lineup to lead the attack for Middlesbrough here, as he has done regularly over the course of the campaign.