Middlesbrough v West Ham United - the fans’ view

By Claire Bloomfield

(Reuters) - Middlesbrough host West Ham United at the Riverside on Saturday after two goalless draws.

Three points would go some way towards helping Aitor Karanka's side, who are four points above the drop zone, maintain their top-flight status.

Andy Carroll's wondrous mid-air volley in West Ham's 3-0 win over Crystal Palace last weekend has given the East London club a much needed lift - despite the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the future of wantaway midfielder Dimitri Payet.

Here is what the fans have to say about their respective clubs.

Rob Nichols, editor of Middlesbrough fanzine, Fly Me To The Moon

"January stood out in the fixture list as a big month for Middlesbrough – and particularly this game – it’s massive.

"West Ham will be a bit in the dark – as are we – to what formation we go on with on Saturday and the players that we put out. At Watford the manager played three at the back plus wing backs so that shows that Aitor is prepared to be flexible.

"It was interesting to note that we also played with two forwards at Watford. Karanka’s reluctance to play more than one player up front has been one of the fan’s main criticisms... so it will be interesting to see who he plays up front this weekend, especially with the return of Patrick Bamford.

"There were terrible scenes outside the ground at the London Stadium when we played there earlier in the season but there shouldn’t be anyone thinking it will spill over into this game.

"We don’t want to see that happen, it was a throw back to the 70s. Some West Ham supporters contacted me after the game to apologise on behalf of their fans.

"Let’s hope it is a friendly affair off the pitch this weekend but intimidating for the players on the pitch.

"I am going to go with a 2-1 win for Middlesbrough. We’re due goals and we are difficult to beat. Everyone is determined to show that we should have more points than we’ve got after being unlucky against the likes of Manchester United and Burnley.

"The stand out performer of the season so far has got to be Ben Gibson for the way that he has stepped up. He looks like a Premier League player and he has become a tower of strength this season and has captained the team for a number of games and been a very good captain.

"He’s still young, but he’s got great leadership qualities and playing for his hometown club clearly matters to him so much.

"Andy Carroll scored a great goal for them last weekend. He’s such a big guy but his main problem is always his fitness. Gibson’s biggest task is to keep him quiet."

Phil Whelans, host, Stop! Hammer Time podcast (westhampodcast.com)

"I think there is a little less pressure on this game given we won the last one. The mood amongst the fans had become very toxic after the very poor performance (5-0 defeat) against Manchester City in the Cup. Teams that play in big stadiums have to play like big teams.

"It was a huge cyclone of discontent, the performance – but also the stewarding is bad, transport links are bad and this rage was given more of a springboard by the Dimitri Payet situation, much of which was directed to the board.

"I think it is symptomatic of something we might see more of in the modern game. Payet has a history of being problematic at previous clubs that’s partially why we he didn’t cost us a huge amount of money.

"Now things look a little bit rosier after Andy Carroll scored potentially the goal of the season. It’s probably good that the next game is away from the London Stadium.

"Fans were reluctant to really turn on (manager) Slaven Bilic in recent months and I think that was good to see. I really like him, I think he is great but he is culpable along with the board for a disastrous summer transfer window and consequently what followed.

"Middlesbrough are not doing fantastically well either but they’re finding goals hard to come by in the same way that we are. Their stadium is too big for them. I think it will be a low scoring game but we’ll pinch it 1-0.

"There will be a significant boost in confidence after last weekend’s 3-0 win over Crystal Palace. The team performed very well without our troublesome star player so I think the fans are relishing the trip to Teesside this weekend.

"Winston Reid is my stand out performer of the season so far. He was cultivated by (former manager) Sam Allardyce. He instilled a lot of confidence in a relatively young central defender.

"His form blows hot and cold and he has had periods where he is frustratingly not at the races. This season he has been imperious. Whatever it is that makes him inconsistent doesn’t really look to have reared its head this year."

(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)