Boro take on Leeds United in the first round of the Carabao Cup at Elland Road on Wednesday.
After winning on the opening day of the EFL Championship season against Swansea City, Michael Carrick’s side now turn their attention to cup action.
The Carabao Cup saw us reach the semi-finals last season against Chelsea, in which we won the first leg at the Riverside 1-0 before being beaten in the return as the Blues made it to Wembley.
The background
Leeds were knocked out in the second round of the cup last season. The Whites beat Shrewsbury Town in the first round but lost out in the second round in a penalty shootout against Salford City after a 1-1 draw.
In league action, Leeds finished last season in third position with 90 points. After beating Norwich City in the play-off semi-final, they set up a clash with Southampton at Wembley. The Saints got the better of Leeds in the final, with Adam Armstrong scoring the only goal.
The Yorkshire side had a positive pre-season, winning four games out of four. They started with a 3-0 win at Harrogate Town before taking a trip to Germany, where they beat Hannover and Schalke 04.
The Whites concluded pre-season with a 2-1 victory at Elland Road against Valencia.
Daniel Farke’s side got their EFL Championship campaign underway on Saturday with an entertaining 3-3 home draw against newly-promoted Portsmouth.
The manager
Farke started his managerial career with German side SV Lippstadt. He spent six years at the club, taking them from the sixth tier to the fourth.
His next step in management came when he was offered the position as Borussia Dortmund’s reserve team manager, where he would stay for two seasons before accepting the position at Norwich City in 2017.
The German took the Canaries back to the Premier League as Championship title winners in his second season at the club.
Norwich were relegated back to the Championship the season after winning the title but Farke again took them back to the Premier League with a club record of 97 points the following year. The German also picked up the EFL Championship Manager of the Season award for his efforts in guiding Norwich back to the Premier League.
After a run of disappointing results, Farke was relieved of his duties at Norwich in 2021. Before taking charge at Leeds United, he spent a season at Borussia Monchengladbach.
In his first season at Leeds, Farke accumulated 90 points and took his side to the play-off final.
Key players
Wilfried Gnonto is a stand-out player for Leeds, having made 13 appearances for the Italian national team in his career.
The 20-year-old joined Leeds from Swiss side FC Zurich in 2022. Since signing, Gnonto has made 37 appearances and scored nine times. The forward was on the scoresheet in their first game this season against Portsmouth.
Another player to keep an eye out for is youngster Mateo Joseph. The Spanish forward made his debut for the club last season in a 2-0 win at Blackburn and went on to make another 25 appearances in all competitions. He netted a brace an FA Cup fifth round tie against Chelsea.
Ethan Ampadu has become a mainstay in Farke’s side since joining the club last season from Chelsea. Ampadu is a versatile player who can play at centre-back or as a central midfielder, and has made 47 appearances so far for Leeds while also wearing the captain’s armband since the turn of the year.
Past meetings
Last season the two sides struck up an entertaining clash in both league fixtures. The first was at Elland Road in December 2023, when Leeds narrowly defeated Carrick’s men 3-2.
The return fixture at the Riverside in April was also an exciting encounter. The result finished 4-3 to the visitors, but Emmanuel Latte Lath’s looping header was nominated for goal of the month.
The meeting on Wednesday is the first time the sides have faced each other in the Carabao Cup.