Middlesbrough v Birmingham City: Koji Miyoshi and Jay Stansfield warning given | OneFootball

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Middlesbrough will be targeting a fifth straight league victory as they welcome an in-form Birmingham City side.

A run of back-to-back victories for the visitors, however, will ultimately take a backseat in the wake of Wayne Rooney's appointment with thousands of eyes directed towards the new man in the dugout to see how he fares upon his return to English management.

The encounter itself, meanwhile, will see both teams look to continue their strong start to October with Boro sweeping aside Cardiff City and Sunderland to maintain their relentless streak, a much-improved run of results following a derisory start to the campaign.

With Michael Carrick's side slowly but surely working their way into the play-off mix, it is Birmingham who will be looking to defend their position after navigating their way into the top six under John Eustace ahead of his untimely departure.

Blues ended their own torrid run of form with victories over Huddersfield Town and West Bromwich Albion prior to the international break with the former Manchester United and England legend looking to capitalise on the feel-good factor to get off to a winning start on Teesside.

With his debut line-up in the air, Birmingham boasts some likely candidates who could be the main threat for the Boro backline to deal with.

Who will be Birmingham City's one to watch against Middlesbrough?

A wealth of summer signings has meant Birmingham City have been unpredictable in the opening stages of the season with several new creative and forward-thinking players immediately taking to the task at hand.

Scoring seven goals in their last two matches, Middlesbrough fan pundit Dana Malt has pinpointed Birmingham's creative source as the biggest threat on Saturday.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, she said: "In terms of a player that could cause Boro problems this weekend, I’ve heard good things about Jay Stansfield, that he has adapted quite quickly to life at Birmingham, but I’d probably say (Koji) Miyoshi.

"He’s created the most chances for Birmingham this season and the most big chances - if he can combine well with Stansfield, I think the two of them together could cause Boro problems, but I think Miyoshi might be at the heart of that, so I am anticipating that he could have a big influence on Birmingham’s performance at the Riverside.”

The Japanese midfielder arrived in the Second City this summer after a positive campaign with Belgian side Royal Antwerp last term, playing ten times in the club's title victory to secure his third league trophy after stints with home nation sides Yokohama F. Marinos and Kawasaki Frontale earlier on in his career.

The 26-year-old, meanwhile, has been a creative force for Birmingham, leading the way with four big chances created, according to Sofascore, along with 1.6 key passes per game, second only to Keshi Anderson.

A resounding performance against Huddersfield saw Miyoshi tap home his second of the campaign from Cody Drameh's low ball to the back post before sliding through Siriki Dembele for Blues' third of the evening with his composed presence a valuable asset to the attacking quartet.

Operating behind the strikeforce, Miyoshi has been an instrumental figure alongside Dembele and Juninho Bacuna as Blues look to assert themselves into the play-off conversation with the player adapting to the demands of Championship remarkably quickly, with Miyoshi only expected to get better as the season progresses.