Middlesbrough vs Stoke preview: Tony Pulis faces defensive injury crisis
Thursday 18 April 2019 19:10, UK
Middlesbrough boss Tony Pulis is facing a defensive crisis after Daniel Ayala and Dael Fry were ruled out of Friday's Sky Bet Championship clash with Stoke.
Spaniard Ayala was carried off after suffering a knee injury during last Saturday's 1-0 victory over Hull and is unlikely to feature again as the campaign draws to a close. Fry tore a hamstring in training earlier this week and will be sidelined for 12 weeks, meaning he will play no part for England at this summer's European U21 Championship.
With full-back George Friend having already had to write off the remainder of the campaign because of a thigh problem, Pulis will have to use the depth of his squad as he looks for a third successive league win.
Stoke manager Nathan Jones will have defender Tom Edwards available after he completed his one-match ban in last weekend's 2-2 draw with Rotherham. Edwards was suspended after being sent off for a second bookable offence during the 3-1 defeat at Swansea in the previous game.
Skipper Ryan Shawcross played against the Millers following his recovery from a back problem as Jones was forced to field four central defenders with no match-fit full-backs available, although Moritz Bauer was an unused substitute and will hope for a chance. Midfielder Tom Ince has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury and continues to work his way back.
Opta stats
Middlesbrough have won none of their last four league matches against Stoke (W0 D2 L2) since a 2-1 win in August 2008.
This is the first meeting between the teams at the Riverside Stadium outside the top flight since August 1997, a 1-0 victory for Stoke.
Middlesbrough last hosted Stoke in a league match on Good Friday in 1951, winning 1-0 in the top flight.
Stoke have won three of their 35 league matches played on Good Friday (W3 D9 L23), with this their first match on Good Friday since 1975; all 35 previous games have been played away from home.
Tony Pulis is unbeaten in his last 14 league matches against Stoke (W7 D7 L0) since losing his first game against them back in November 1992 with Bournemouth.
Since Nathan Jones' first Championship match in charge, Stoke have had the fewest shots (132), shots on target (35) and scored the fewest goals (11) in the entire division.
Prutton's prediction
Middlesbrough have returned to form at the right time, taking advantage of a couple of kind fixtures to get some confidence and their play-off hopes back on track.
Stoke are just getting through until the end of the season now, and a few of their squad will be playing for their futures under Nathan Jones. Score draw for me.
David Prutton predicts: 1-1 (11/2 with Sky Bet)
