United take on the Teesiders at Brunton Park this evening (7.30pm kick-off) in pre-season friendly action as the start of 2011-12 League One campaign looms a week and a half away on the horizon, Middlesbrough also beginning their season on the same day but Tony Mowbray is still fielding split sides from his squad as he told his club's official website :
"Today will be very much the same at Saturday in terms of squad. We'll split the team. The senior players who played against Darlington won't travel, the ones who didn't play on Saturday will go. The plan is they'll get 90 minutes under their belts, mixed in with some younger players. They need to feel that before the season starts they’ve played 90 minutes.
"Friday (against PSV Eindhoven) will be when I'll try and formulate a team pretty close to what I'll be starting with against Portsmouth, but there are still a few places up for grabs. Players may get 45 minutes each in those positions. We won't be far away by Friday. Then it's a good week into the start of the season."
So, with Boro's line-up in their 4-2 defeat at Darlington on Saturday being as follows :
Danny Coyne, Tony McMahon, Rhys Williams, Stephen McManus, Jonathan Grounds (Adam Reach 67), Merouane Zemmama (Seb Hines 67), Nicky Bailey (Malaury Martin 67), Barry Robson (Lee Miller 69), Tarmo Kink (Curtis Main 85), Marvin Emnes (Luke Williams 67), Leroy Lita.
Unused substitute :
Connor Ripley (GK).
It seems likely that the Middlesbrough squad for this evening will be chosen from the following players, although a 'Boro XI is also playing at a Kelham O'Hanlon managed AFC Fylde side tonight so numbers could be tight on the visiting bench at Brunton Park :
Justin Hoyte, Matthew Bates, Scott McDonald, Kevin Thomson, Lee Miller Andy Halliday, Luke Williams, Seb Hines, Joe Bennett, Jonathan Franks, Jason Steele (GK), Richard Smallwood, Ben Gibson, Bruno Pilatos, Cameron Park, Connor Ripley (GK), Paul Weldon, Adam Reach, Malaury Martin, Rhys Murphy (trialist), Marvin Emnes (working towards full fitness).