HIGHLIGHTS
- Carrick’s unconventional formations helped Boro defeat Leicester with a fluid system emphasising exploiting spaces, securing consistent victories.
- Boro stand out as the only team to beat Leicester twice this season with standout performances from key players like Azaz, Silvera, and O’Brien.
- A knee injury ruled out Hayden Hackney, along with Jonny Howson, in a disappointing setback, reducing optimism for their swift return.
Michael Carrick, the manager of Middlesbrough, doesn’t believe in sticking to the rules when it comes to formations, and that mentality is precisely what enabled them to defeat Leicester City the previous weekend.
Unlike many of his peers, the former Manchester United player prefers a fluid style that concentrates on finding openings and areas of the pitch to exploit.
Throughout his tenure at the Riverside, he has consistently seen success with this strategy; his 2-1 triumph over the leaders of the Championship last weekend is just one more instance of how he has taken advantage of weaknesses in the opposition’s lineup.
Carrick on Leicester tactics
For the majority of the 90 minutes at King Power Stadium, the Foxes were held at bay by a three-man defence consisting of Paddy McNair, Matt Clarke, and Rav van den Berg. This allowed Finn Azaz and Sam Silvera to flourish up front, and Lewis O’Brien amazed with his endless energy.
Boro is the only team this season to have defeated Leicester twice already; in a 1-0 home triumph back in November, Sam Greenwood scored the game’s only goal.
Carrick was happy with his team’s performance in both of their matches this season, as well as their strong cup performances against Chelsea and Aston Villa. The switch from four to three at the back against Enzo Maresca’s team paid off.
After the win, he told Teesside Live, “I think we’ve used it enough.” Because they put five across their backline, we used it here today. When we faced Leicester at home, we essentially used Jonny Howson to fill Paddy McNair’s place.
“The personnel was different, but the match was extremely similar. Paddy is most likely viewed as a centre defender, but Jonny plays in the midfield. However, the task was essentially the same. The boys, in my opinion, took on very varied tasks and handled the challenge incredibly well. Therefore, I was quite happy with how they considered that.”
West Ham keen on Hackney
One of Boro’s standout players this season, Hayden Hackney has drawn interest from several Premier League teams with a number of impressive displays.
The England U21 international is reportedly being watched by scouts from West Ham and Nottingham Forest at The Riverside, and Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool are rumoured to be interested as well.
After making his first team debut in the previous season, the 21-year-old has only gotten more expensive. His match-winning goal in a 1-0 Carabao Cup triumph over Chelsea added millions to his asking price.
With 14 games remaining in the Championship, Boro is now ranked 13th. Hackney, who had 38 appearances in 2022–2023 is back on the field 28 times this season, tallying two goals and two assists.
| Championship Table (As it stands February 19th) | ||||
| Team | P | GD | Pts | |
| 9 | Preston North End | 33 | -8 | 49 |
| 10 | Sunderland | 33 | 8 | 47 |
| 11 | Watford | 33 | 4 | 44 |
| 12 | Bristol City | 33 | 1 | 44 |
| 13 | Middlesbrough | 32 | 0 | 44 |
Hackney and Howson injury updates
Travellers hoping to witness Hackney live at the King Power Stadium would have been unhappy to learn that the midfield player would not be playing due to a knee injury suffered during last week’s 2-1 loss to Preston North End.
In the match at Deepdale, Jonny Howson also suffered a knee injury. Both players are undergoing evaluation this week, and Carrick wasn’t holding out much hope for their comeback.
“Jonny and Hayden are waiting to see, but to be honest, it doesn’t seem good. Both of them have undergone scans, and we are awaiting their evaluation. In the final five minutes at Preston, both of them twisted their knees during two tackles, he told Teesside Live.
There’s another one where there’s not much you can do about it, so this one makes you kind of smile halfheartedly. For us these days, it kind of says it all. I really don’t want to lose the boys, but what are your options? Though we’ll have to wait and see how long, hopefully we can have them back sooner.”
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