The predicted Middlesbrough XI Rob Edwards will play v Swansea City - Callum Brittain backed to "come straight in" | OneFootball

FLW's Middlesbrough fan pundit has walked us through his predicted starting XI for Boro's opening game of the season v Swansea City this weekend.

Middlesbrough begin their 2025/26 season at home to Swansea City on Saturday.

A new era on Teesside will be officially marked at the Riverside Stadium this weekend, as Rob Edwards takes charge of his first competitive fixture as Boro head coach.

There is a strange atmosphere around the club at the moment, however, with the natural levels of fan excitement for the new season being dampened somewhat by a frustrating summer transfer window so far.

Middlesbrough have only been able to make three new additions so far this summer, with Callum Brittain, Abdoulaye Kante and Alfie Jones arriving from Blackburn Rovers, Troyes and Hull City respectively.

Boro will take on a Swansea City side led by Alan Sheehan that certainly has a lot of optimism around them, with the Jacks doing some good business in the market, and with high-profile figures in Luka Modrić and Snoop Dogg now part of the ownership group at the club.

Sol Brynn

Goalkeeper

So, how will Middlesbrough line up come 3pm on Saturday afternoon? We asked our Boro fan pundit, Matthew Rowney, for his predicted starting XI.

"So, looking at Rob Edwards' potential first XI ahead of Swansea City, it's actually a really easy one.

"Mostly down to Boro's lack of options, minimal number of signings, and already in pre-season, countless injuries. So a lot of the first-team players are out.

"We've got no George Edmundson, no Darragh Lenihan, Rav van den Berg might be off. In midfield, we don't know what's happening with Hayden Hackney.

"In the attacking areas, Riley McGree - he's injured. Finn Azaz - he's injured. So it's a pretty bare-bones team, and a relatively easy one to pick.

"I think Sol Brynn will be in goal. Him and Tom Glover have traded minutes over the pre-season friendlies, but notably, Sol Brynn got a full 90 minutes in our last pre-season friendly v Deportivo La Coruna."

Dael Fry

Centre-back

"We'll probably be playing with a back three. That's the new system that we're going with under Rob Edwards," Matt stated.

"Dael Fry has been a centrepiece of that back three. He's played pretty much every single game in pre-season as the middle of the centre-backs."

Alfie Jones

Right centre-back

"To his (Fry) right-hand side, we're probably going to have Alfie Jones, who we've signed from Hull City," predicted Matt.

"He probably would be a depth option ideally at this point, but again, we've barely got any defenders so he's having to start."

Neto Borges

Left centre-back

"Neto Borges will be the left centre-back," Matt confidently predicts.

The Brazilian signed for Middlesbrough last summer from French side Clermont Foot, and despite being a left-back by trade, the 28-year-old has played his best football in a red and white shirt in a centre-back role.

Sammy Silvera

Left wing-back

"Left wing-back, we haven't got one basically," Matt said.

"But Sammy Silvera, who of course was out on loan last season, he's come in and actually done a relatively good job at left wing-back.

"That's probably understating it actually, he's done a really good job at left wing-back in pre-season, although we still need to improve there massively.

"He'll probably start there for now."

Callum Brittain

Right wing-back

"I'm hoping that Callum Brittain will come straight into our starting XI at right wing-back, with Luke Ayling dropping out," Matt said.

The 27-year-old has finally completed a £3.5m move to Middlesbrough this week, and looks set to play a key role in the side moving forward.

Hayden Hackney

Central midfield

"The midfield two is a strange one," Matt proclaimed.

"I think if Hayden Hackney is still here, he'll partner Aidan Morris in what was, and has been for a long time, Boro's absolute best midfield two."

"If he's not here, youngster Law McCabe is likely to step in for Hayden Hackney, but hopefully he's still here and still in the XI."

Aidan Morris

Central midfield

Signed from MLS side Columbus Crew last summer, Aidan Morris quickly established himself as one of Middlesbrough's standout players.

Seldom seen giving the ball away, the 23-year-old USA international recorded a 92.1 per cent passing accuracy in the Championship last term (per FotMob), and will continue to play an integral part in Boro's high-energy, front-footed approach under Edwards.

Delano Burgzorg

"As I say, there's plenty of injuries in the two 10's that play now between midfield and in-behind Tommy Conway," Matt continued.

"The only two that we've really got available, unfortunately, are probably Delano Burgzorg and Morgan Whittaker.

"Whittaker will probably be on the right of the two 10's, with Burgzorg starting on the left."

Morgan Whittaker

Right attacking midfield

Signed from Plymouth Argyle in January in a deal worth up to £7.5m, Whittaker is hoping to really kick-start his Middlesbrough career in 2025/26, after failing to hit the ground running at the Riverside during the second half of last season.

The 24-year-old was able to bag just one assist in 16 Championship appearances for Boro last term, and is set to start his first full campaign as a Boro player against one of his former employers.