Birmingham City host Middlesbrough in the Friday night Championship game and Blues boss Pep Clotet believes they will be up against a very good side.

Jonathan Woodgate has endured a tough start to life in charge of his boyhood club, with Boro languishing in 20th place after ten games this season.

However, Clotet, who also took charge this summer, insisted that Boro have a lot of talent and revealed that the home side will be looking to dominate possession to ensure the Teesside outfit don't control the game.

"Boro have a lot of quality, a high work rate, good pace, they have a lot of individual talent and they will cause us problems, it’s a good team, they have the ability to score goals, it is going to be important that we do not allow them to have a lot of the ball," he told the club's media.

The Spaniard is starting to come under pressure at St. Andrew's with Blues going into this fixture on the back of three successive defeats, with the fans also unhappy with recent performances.

The verdict

Despite Boro's woes this season they do have plenty of matchwinners in their squad so you can understand why Clotet is praising them.

The fans will be glad to hear the boss say that they want to stop Boro playing because it suggests that he wants to go with a more high-intensity approach and most would agree that's needed.

But, it's easy for Clotet to say and it's another thing to do it. So, the fans will be waiting to see what happens on the pitch tomorrow night and a big display, and three points, are needed.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.

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