"Stepped it up" - Bristol City warned over Middlesbrough FC individual who could unlock Tommy Conway chances | OneFootball

Boro travel to Ashton Gate looking to stop a run of four straight league defeats

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Middlesbrough travel to Bristol City this weekend, with Michael Carrick’s side looking to turn around their wretched run of form and keep their play-off ambitions on track.

The Boro boss has been backed by the board despite their recent woes, but there is no disguising that the Teessiders are are falling way below their lofty standards right now, with just two wins in their last eleven Championship outings.

That form has seen them drop out of the play-off places and four points off of sixth spot, with Friday night’s hosts two points better off as they harbour play-off ambitions of their own under Liam Manning.

While there hasn’t been much hope to cling to at The Riverside of late, we spoke to Football League World’s Boro fan pundit Jasper Hudson about who could make all the difference at Ashton Gate this weekend, as the race for the top six hots up.

Delano Burgzorg backed to make the difference against Bristol City

With the mood turning sour in the north east lately, there hasn’t been much to shout about for the Boro faithful, but the performances of Delano Burgzorg have at least provided some respite from the dreary performances on show.

Carrick’s side have netted four goals in their last four matches, and the Surinamese star has netted three of those, before being dropped from the starting lineup altogether for last weekend’s hosting of Watford.

After being introduced from the bench, the former Huddersfield Town loanee gave another full-blooded showing to try and prise a response from his teammates, but was helpless in stopping the Hornets travel back to Hertfordshire with a 1-0 win.

Those recent performances have convinced Hudson that the 26-year-old should be back in the first eleven for the trip to the south west, as he starts to show what he is all about on the left side of attack.

When quizzed about who the opposition should be looking out for this weekend, the Boro fan said: “I hope he will start, but the one player that Bristol City should be worried about is Delano Burgzorg.

“He is really up for it at the minute, he is on form and it seemed the wrong decision to bench him against Watford.

“He has really stepped it up in the last week or two, and he is the only player you can say that has done that. He really cares, you can see that.

“The main thing is his directness in attack and it is causing teams problems now. At the start of the season it was more frustrating where he should have released things early and couldn’t quite beat a man, but he has got it down at the minute and he is able to beat players, get it down and attack and create chances for others.”

Tommy Conway will be hoping to make triumphant Bristol City return

Burgzorg will be tasked with trying to get the better of a City side who have hit some patch form of their own of late, with just two victories in their last seven outings.

A last minute Cardiff City equaliser from Yousef Salech cost the Robins all three points last time out, making it just one clean sheet in their last six Championship matches; a fact that will leave Burgzorg and his attacking teammates licking their lips.

While the wide man will be looking to get on the scoresheet once again himself on Friday night, he will have a player keen to make a mark against his former club alongside him in the frontline, with City old boy Tommy Conway returning to Ashton Gate for the first time since his reported £4.5 million move to Boro last summer.

Burgzorg’s creativity on the flank could pave the way for the striker to add to his eight league goals this season, having drawn a blank as his old side won the corresponding fixture 2-0 at The Riverside back in October.

“Obviously, with it being Bristol City I feel like there is the Tommy Conway link,” Hudson continued.

"They will know how good a player he is; he is a sharp-shooter who is going to take his chances, so they are going to have to make sure they stop Burgzorg so that Conway doesn’t get any chances.”