Middlesbrough need to find the net
By Alan Baldwin
LONDON (Reuters) - If history is anything to go by, then the only Premier League club yet to score or concede a goal in 2017 should find the net when Aitor Karanka's Middlesbrough host West Ham United at the Riverside on Saturday.
It may be just the one, however.
The two sides, home to some of the past greats of the English game while also experiencing many ups and downs over the years, have a head-to-head record that does not immediately scream goals galore.
Middlesbrough, 16th in the standings and four points clear of the drop zone, have had two goalless draws so far in 2017 and have also not won any of their last eight league games against West Ham.
They have, however, never failed to score in 11 Premier League home games against 12th placed West Ham -- who have only won once before at the Riverside.
And while promoted 'Boro have drawn a blank in nine of their 21 games so far this season, the Teessiders have also yet to rack up three successive no-score draws in the Premier League.
The days of Brian Clough, who banged in 197 goals in 213 appearances for Middlesbrough, and 'Golden Boy' Wilf Mannion (110 in all competitions) are part of the club's rich but distant history.
But such prolific scorers are thin on the ground nowadays.
They may be bottom of the goal-scoring tables, with just 17 for, but Middlesbrough do not concede many either -- boasting a better defensive record than either high-flying Liverpool or Manchester City.
And in Karanka, a former right-hand man to Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid, they have an astute tactician.
"Middlesbrough are solid," said West Ham manager Slaven Bilic on Thursday. "We will have to be on top of our game.
"Of course we have a chance this weekend to win. If we play like we did in the second half against Palace, we will do well," added the Croatian, whose side have rallied strongly since escaping from the drop zone.
The Hammers, without French midfielder Dimitri Payet who wants out and is set to remain absent on Saturday, swept aside Crystal Palace 3-0 last weekend with a wonder goal from Andy Carroll at the London Stadium.
Middlesbrough are wise to the threat posed by the big man on his return to his native North-East.
"He's aggressive, he's strong but also technically good as well, so you can't give him a yard in the box," said defender Calum Chambers, who has featured in all but one of Middlesbrough's games since joining on loan from Arsenal.
Saturday's game, which is likely to have a close to capacity crowd of more than 30,000, could also feature new signing Patrick Bamford drafted into action up front in support of main targetman Alvaro Negredo.
The 23-year-old striker spent the 2014-15 season on loan from Chelsea and scored 19 goals in 44 games for the then-Championship (second tier) side -- the second highest tally by any player under Karanka's management.
With 32-year-old former England winger Stewart Downing, who joined from West Ham in 2015, increasingly sidelined and linked to a move away there could be a role for the versatile Bamford on either flank.
"I'll play anywhere the gaffer wants me to," he said.
"If you look at the table of goal difference, we're seventh because of how organised we have been defensively... if we add a few goals to our game, there's no limit (to what the club can achieve)."
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Pritha Sarkar)