Middlesbrough vs Sunderland. Sky Bet Championship.
Riverside StadiumAttendance29,277.
Sunday 5 November 2017 12:37, UK
Middlesbrough boss Garry Monk will have a near-clean bill of health for Sunday's derby clash with Sunderland.
Full-back Fabio da Silva suffered a knock to his ankle during Tuesday evening's 3-1 Sky Bet Championship victory at Hull and was also unwell after the game, but is expected to be fit for the visit of the managerless Black Cats to the Riverside Stadium.
George Friend, who replaced Fabio at the KCOM Stadium, will be standing by in case he does not make it as Boro go in search of a third successive league win. Monk's only absentee is striker Rudy Gestede, who is back in training, but not yet ready to return from a troublesome thigh injury.
Sunderland will arrive on Teesside with caretakers Billy McKinlay and Robbie Stockdale, a former Boro player, in charge following Simon Grayson's midweek departure. They will do so without a Championship victory in 13 attempts since they won 3-1 at Norwich on August 13, although having drawn four of their last five games.
McKinlay and Stockdale will have only defender Tyias Browning missing as he continues his recovery from a hamstring injury. Midfielder Paddy McNair, who scored a late equaliser in Tuesday night's 3-3 draw with Bolton, has appeared as a substitute in the last two games following an 11-month lay-off with knee-ligament damage and will hope for a first start since November 19 last year.
Middlesbrough have beaten local rivals Sunderland in each of their last three matches in all competitions, last winning four in a row in February 2003.
The Black Cats have won two of their last 24 away league visits to Middlesbrough (D8 L14).
Britt Assombalonga has scored in each of his last five Championship appearances in November, netting six goals.
Sunderland, with just 10 points from their opening 15 matches, have made the worst start of any side in the second tier who were relegated from the Premier League the previous season.
The last second tier side relegated from the top-flight the previous season to win only one of their first 15 games were Swansea City in 1983-84; the Swans were relegated at the end of that season.
Garry Monk has never lost back to back home Championship matches as a manager; Monk has followed up six defeats with three wins and three draws.
The Sky Bet Championship is such a tough division to call, but everything about this game would suggest this has to be a home win. Middlesbrough finally seem to have gotten their act together as they adjust to life under Garry Monk, and Sunderland are in absolute freefall.
You feel a little for Simon Grayson, who was given an incredibly difficult job there, but the results were poor and as soon as relegation becomes a possibility in any league then the manager is in trouble.
I think Middlesbrough will want to give their opponents a right beating on Sunday to announce they've really arrived this season, and I fancy them to do just that.
Prutton predicts: 3-0 with Britt Assombalonga to score first (25/1 with Sky Bet)
