ALASTAIR BROWNLEE'S BIG MATCH PREVIEW
CRYSTAL PALACE v MIDDLESBROUGH
Alastair Brownlee, 6 Nov 2009
Boro take the best away record in the Championship to Selhurst Park as they look to get their promotion push back on track following last Saturday's disappointing home defeat by Plymouth.
Gordon Strachan is making his mark as the new manager, with hard work on the training ground and the signings, on loan, of Marcus Bent and Isaiah Osbourne. However, it is going to take time for Strachan to turn things around.
November offers a great opportunity for the manager as, unusually for the Championship, there are just three fixtures in the entire month. This will allow him time to get his message across before the crowded schedule in December and January.
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Clearly, as Boro have drifted into eighth place in the League, a solution to the poor form at the Riverside needs to be found but on their travels, Boro are an entirely different proposition, with four wins, two draws and only one defeat.
In those seven matches, Boro have scored 15 goals, which is the highest in the Championship.
The second half against Plymouth allowed Marcus Bent and Leroy Lita to start to build a partnership and Strachan must be tempted to start with them at Selhurst Park.
Adam Johnson has been in terrific goal scoring form and despite his miss from the spot against Plymouth, he has nine goals for the campaign so far. But it is down to the central strikers to contribute towards the "goals for" column.
Boro will have to find their way past Palace goalkeeper Julian Speroni if they are to claim all three points and the Argentinian keeper is rated by Eagles boss Neil Warnock as the best in the Championship.
Crystal Palace are still trying to find a run of form this season. They are comfortably in mid-table and their recent return of four draws from their last five outings shows that they will be hard to beat.
Boro have, however, a good record against Palace. They have lost only one of their last seven meetings and their last defeat at Selhurst Park was back in 1993.
A win for Boro ahead of the International break would be an ideal reward for the fans who are making the long journey to south London.
Don't forget that after the match, you can have your say in the Boro Hour on BBC Tees Sport by calling Gary Gill and I on 01642 225511. The best caller will receive a pair of tickets for the home match with Nottingham Forest.
Also available after the match is the BBC Tees Best of Boro podcast that contains the match highlights and the post match interviews with Mark Drury.
