Middlesbrough vs West Bromwich Albion Prediction: Hosts confident after Carabao Cup win

Middlesbrough will welcome West Bromwich Albion at Riverside Stadium in Game Week 23 of the English Championship. Hosts will be high on confidence after entering the last four of Carabao cup. Who will come out on top after 90 minutes?

Middlesbrough have reached the semi-finals of the EFL Cup for the first time since 2004. In their recent victory against Port Vale, goals from Jonny Howson, Morgan Rogers, and Matt Crooks secured a comfortable 3-0 win. However, apart from a match against Huddersfield Town, they have mainly faced teams from lower divisions in their journey to the last four. Now, they face a challenging two-legged tie against Chelsea, managed by Mauricio Pochettino, which will determine their place in the final at Wembley. 

Although Middlesbrough has stumbled in their recent league matches, losing four out of six, they managed to secure a win against managerless Swansea City, with Sam Greenwood and Sam Silvera scoring. This victory moved them up to 13th place in the Championship table, six points behind both Hull City and West Brom. 

Since the departure of Chuba Akpom, Middlesbrough has been focused on distributing the goal-scoring responsibility among their forwards. Emmanuel Latte Lath and loanee Sam Greenwood from Leeds United have been leading the team's scoring charts, both with five goals each.

Dieng; Dijksteel; Fry, Clarke, Engel; Howson, Barlaser; Silvera, Crooks, Rogers; Kavanagh

Following consecutive defeats in early December against Leicester City and Sunderland, West Bromwich Albion has bounced back with positive results against Rotherham United and Stoke City. Led by new manager Leam Richardson, the Baggies secured a win against Rotherham thanks to goals from Grady Diangana and Jed Wallace. In their most recent match, Albion managed to salvage a draw against Stoke after falling behind to an unexpected goal from Lynden Gooch. Brandon Thomas-Asante's goal in that match put him level with John Swift as the team's top scorer.

As the club continues to battle ownership issues, head coach Corberan is working hard to ensure success on the field. Currently sitting in fifth place, West Brom is three points ahead of Sunderland in seventh. Last season, poor away form cost them a top-six finish, but they have improved in recent months with victories against Cardiff City and Coventry City.

Palmer; Furlong, Kipre, Bartley, Townsend; Yokuslu, Mowatt, Diangana, Wallace, Sarmiento; Thomas-Asante

In theory, Middlesbrough should feel confident after their recent victory in the EFL Cup on Tuesday. However, the team faces new challenges with a wave of injuries that could hamper their performance this weekend. West Brom, on the other hand, has not been in top form since their last victory against Ipswich Town. Nevertheless, they should have enough ability to secure three points at the Riverside.