2 Middlesbrough dilemmas ahead of Birmingham City tonight | OneFootball

Middlesbrough come into this midweek’s clash without manager Chris Wilder at the helm anymore.

The 55-year old was dismissed following the team’s 1-0 loss to Coventry City at the weekend.

He has departed with Boro sitting 22nd in the Championship table, facing a huge game against Birmingham City on Wednesday evening.

The Blues will be looking to pile on the misery in order to create a gap to the relegation zone, with only three points separating the two sides.

Here we look at two dilemmas facing interim-manager Leo Percovich ahead of tonight’s fixture…

Chuba Akpom fitness

The forward has struggled for fitness in recent weeks having been out with a knee injury suffered in the team’s 2-2 draw with Sheffield United in August.

The defeat to the Sky Blues last weekend saw him return to action off the bench, where he managed 45 minutes of action.

Percovich will have to weigh up Akpom’s fitness levels ahead of a potential return to the starting lineup on Wednesday evening.

While he was initially left out in the cold by Wilder, he made a return to the squad over the summer and put in some impressive performances before going off in the final stages of the draw against United.

Given recent results, it may be worth taking a risk in trying the 26-year old from the start in order to help with the team’s recent goal scoring woes.

Quiz: Did Middlesbrough win, draw or lose the last time they played at these 18 stadiums?

1 of 18

Oakwell

Win Draw Loss

Sticking with Wilder’s system

Wilder opted for a 3-5-2 during his final weeks in charge of Middlesbrough, but the setup failed to yield the right results which ultimately led to his dismissal.

Percovich has been in charge since Monday so has not had a lot of time to implement huge changes as the club works on a permanent replacement.

However, it would come as no surprise to see him make the call to move to a new formation for tonight’s clash against Birmingham.

The Blues are likely to cede possession in order to implement a counter-attacking strategy, which could free-up the interim-boss to take out a defender in place of another attacking option.

Given recent performances, perhaps a shake-up in style could also help freshen things up for the players.