ALASTAIR BROWNLEE'S BIG MATCH PREVIEW
PETERBOROUGH UNITED v MIDDLESBROUGH
Alastair Brownlee, 28 Nov 2009
Boro travel to bottom of the table Peterborough United looking to get their first win under Gordon Strachan in order to start the climb back towards the top six.
There are, of course, plenty of points left to play for this season as there are 29 games still to play.
However, after the trip to London Road, Boro face QPR, Blackpool, Cardiff and Newcastle in a short period before Christmas and you sense that this run of matches will have a crucial impact on our hopes of automatic promotion.
Column Continues Below...
After guiding Peterborough to the Championship, it was something of a surprise when Darren Ferguson lost his job. But after a poor start to the season and the threat of relegation, Mark Cooper has been given the task of guiding Posh to safety.
It is Cooper's first home game in charge and Boro will hope that he does not start the revival at their expense.
Sean St Ledger will be making a return to the team that he first went to as a young nine year old dreaming of a career in football.
St Ledger spent over ten years at London Road, making his way through to the first team. He is unsure what reception he will receive from the home fans but his aim is to ensure Boro pick up three points.
Gordon Strachan has been impressed with St Ledger's attitude, and unlike some other managers who rested players who had been involved in the Republic of Ireland's World Cup play-off with France, he had no hesitation in putting the defender in the team for last week's draw with Nottingham Forest.
The back four looked strong last week and it is, therefore, a pity that Rhys Williams is suspended for the trip to Peterborough.
The suspension of Williams could give another chance for Tony McMahon, who played for the first half in the reserves' victory over Grimsby in mid-week.
The main problem for Boro has been scoring goals but with time now spent on the training ground, let's hope that the Kitson-Lita partnership can start to produce the goals that will put the spark back into the season.
There should be a terrific atmosphere at London Road, with a crowd of over 11,000 being swelled by the travelling army of Boro fans who will enjoy the novel experience of standing to watch a league game!
Don't forget that after the game, Gary Gill and I will be taking calls from the fans with their reaction to the Boro performance in the Boro Hour on BBC Tees Sport.
Call 01642 225511 and you could be in with the chance of winning a pair of tickets to see Boro play Blackpool for being our best caller.
Also available after the match is the BBC Tees Best of Boro podcast that contains match highlights and the post match interviews with Mark Drury.
