Pundit tips Middlesbrough FC to be a real force if one issue involving Latte Lath can be fixed | OneFootball

Adrian Clarke has given his view on what Middlesbrough can achieve in the Championship this season.

Pundit Adrian Clarke believes Middlesbrough will be among the promotion contenders in the Championship this season, but he believes they need their attacking players to find form.

Having made slow starts to each of the last two seasons, Boro have had a much-improved opening to the campaign this time around, and they are among the early front-runners in the Championship.

The Teeside outfit have still suffered frustration at times this season, and they have been wasteful in front of goal, but they secured their second consecutive victory with a 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns on Tuesday night.

It was an outstanding result against an Albion side who were top of the table coming into the game, and Hayden Hackney's excellent 73rd-minute strike sealed a deserved three points for Michael Carrick's men.

Boro currently sit seventh in the table, just three points behind second-placed Burnley and four points behind leaders Sunderland, and they are back in action when they face Watford at Vicarage Road on Saturday.

Adrian Clarke issues exciting Middlesbrough prediction

Clarke admitted he has been impressed by Boro's start to the season, and he believes that if Carrick can get his forwards going, his side could be one to watch in the Championship.

"They cruised past Stoke 2-0 in the game before, they had 26 shots to seven, it was really comprehensive for them there, and they go to The Hawthorns, which is one of the toughest fixtures of the entire season and they grind out a 1-0," Clarke said on the What the EFL?! podcast.

"It's been a good week for them, they're up to seventh.

"I think the heart of it is maybe a blossoming central midfield partnership between Hayden Hackney and Aidan Morris, who is a full USA international.

"He's come from Colombus Crew and he's settled in really well, he disrupts the game, but also passes it really well.

"I noticed 75 of his 78 passes in that game found a team-mate, which is impressive I think in the hurly-burly of the Championship.

"At the back, Rav van den Berg has come in with George Edmundson, it's a new partnership, they played the other day and did ever so well.

"If you look at Boro's defensive record, it's solid, four clean sheets already and only Leeds and Sheffield United have got a lower expected goals against.

"They haven't got their forwards going yet, Latte Lath has been quiet by his standards, don't forget you've got people like Finn Azaz, you've got Ben Doak who's starting to click on the right.

"Once that starts to really fire, Middlesbrough are going to be a team that you're really going to have to keep your eye on.

"Now that they're up into play-off contention, I don't expect them to slip away.

"I think, if anything, they'll just head further upwards."

It is difficult to disagree with Clarke that Boro could be serious promotion contenders in the Championship this season.

Defensive issues have plagued Boro in recent years, but they have tightened up significantly at the back this campaign, and as Clarke says, Hackney and Morris have formed a strong midfield partnership.

Carrick's men would be higher up the table had they been more clinical in front of goal, and the fact that Emmanuel Latte Lath, who scored 18 goals last season, has only found the back of the net once will be a cause for concern.

Ipswich Town had a bid rejected for Latte Lath on deadline day, and the 25-year-old may have been distracted by the speculation over his future in the summer, but if Boro are to challenge for automatic promotion, they will need him to deliver.

The positive for Boro is that they are still creating plenty of chances, and with the likes of Latte Lath, Tommy Conway, Delano Burgzorg, Marcus Forss, Ben Doak, Isaiah Jones, Finn Azaz and Riley McGree in the squad, Carrick has a host of dangerous attacking options at his disposal.