Middlesbrough v West Brom preview: Boro miss Gaston Ramirez
Tuesday 31 January 2017 18:33, UK
Middlesbrough will be without midfielder Gaston Ramirez for their Premier League home game against West Brom on Tuesday night.
The Uruguay international had been expected to shake off a knee problem, but will play no part for Aitor Karanka's side.
Boro have slipped of late, winning just one of their last eight league games, and sit just four points above the drop zone in 16th.
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West Brom, meanwhile, are up in eighth after winning three of their last four, but defender Johnny Evans is likely to remain sidelined for the trip to the north-east.
Team news
George Friend also misses out for Middlesbrough due to a back problem sustained in Saturday's FA Cup win against Accrington, but Daniel Ayala is available after a three-game ban and fellow defender Antonio Barragan (hamstring) is back in contention.
West Brom centre-half Evans hobbled off with a calf injury against Hull on January 2 which forced him to miss the last three matches and Baggies boss Tony Pulis is pessimistic about his chances of being fit for Tuesday night.
Pulis revealed he will also be without on-loan Everton defender Brendan Galloway at the Riverside while recent signing Jake Livermore is expected to be on the bench once more as he awaits his full debut.
Opta stats
Middlesbrough have failed to score in each of their last five league meetings with West Brom, losing four (D1).
West Brom are unbeaten in their last four trips to Middlesbrough (W2 D2), after a run of 18 games (all comps) without a win.
Chris Brunt has been directly involved in three goals in his three league appearances against Middlesbrough for the Baggies (two goals, one assist).
Brunt has been involved in six goals his last nine Premier League appearances since the start of December (three goals, three assists).
Middlesbrough are the only Premier League side yet to see a substitute involved in a goal this season, this despite 53 subs being used.
It's over a year since a West Bromwich Albion substitute scored a goal in the Premier League - January 13, 2016 (Craig Gardner v Chelsea).
Merson's prediction
This is a must-win game for Middlesbrough, they are in a relegation battle. They played well against West Ham but didn't get the result. They need to score more goals, but with Rudy Gestede and Patrick Bamford coming in perhaps that could change.
If Bamford can replicate the form he showed on his last spell at Boro they'll be out of trouble before they know it. Having said that, West Brom are a hard team to beat. I see this one ending level.
PAUL PREDICTS: 1-1 (9/2 with Sky Bet)
Betting
West Brom are 19/10 and the draw is chalked up at 2/1, with 1-1 9/2 and a goalless draw on offer at 11/2. Boro's striker Alvaro Negredo is the 5/1 market leader in the first goalscorer betting, with Salomon Rondon considered most likely for the visitors at 11/2.
There's also an additional round of Super 6, with £250,000 up for grabs for predicting six correct scores tonight.
