Middlesbrough return to action when they take on Coventry City in the first leg of their play-off semi-final on Sunday.

Here are all the details you need to know about the game…


WHERE IS THE GAME TAKING PLACE?

Having finished fourth in the regular Championship season, Middlesbrough are away from home for the first leg of their semi-final against Coventry, meaning Sunday’s game will be staged at the Coventry Building Society Arena.

Boro suffered a 1-0 defeat at the stadium at the start of October in a game that proved to be Chris Wilder’s final match in charge of the club. The reverse fixture at the Riverside ended in a 1-1 draw on the final day of the regular season last weekend.

Boro do not have a particularly good record at Coventry, having won just one of their last seven away games against the Sky Blues. That success came courtesy of a 2-1 win secured through goals from Grant Hall and George Saville in March 2021.


WHAT TIME IS KICK-OFF?

Sunday’s game kicks off at midday.


ARE TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE?

No – all of Middlesbrough’s tickets for the away section at the Coventry Building Society Arena have been sold to fans with 180 priority points or more.

Boro will be cheered on by a travelling contingent of 2,000 away fans on Sunday lunchtime.


IS THE GAME BEING TELEVISED OR STREAMED LIVE?

Yes, Sunday’s game is being televised live by Sky Sports, and will be broadcast on the Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football channels.

As a result of the game being broadcast live in the UK, there will be no domestic streaming available.

Radio commentary will be available on BBC Radio Tees and talkSPORT and Scott Wilson will be at the CBS Arena for The Northern Echo producing a live blog, report, ratings, reaction and analysis that will available on The Northern Echo’s website.


WHAT IS MIDDLESBROUGH’S LIKELY LINE-UP?

It remains to be seen whether any of Middlesbrough’s injured players make it back for the first leg of the semi-final, with Dael Fry, Jonny Howson, Marcus Forss and Aaron Ramsey all having been forced to sit out the final game of the regular season against Coventry.

Fry is an extremely unlikely starter, but Howson could be involved if he can shake off the muscular problem that was sustained during the warm-up at Rotherham.

Ramsey has been splitting his time between Boro’s training ground and the medical facilities at his parent club, Aston Villa, as he recovers from an ankle injury. The midfielder, who was named in the England Under-20s squad earlier this week, is understood to be approaching a return to full fitness.

Ryan Giles came through his return to action in the league game against Coventry unscathed and will line up on the left of defence, with Tommy Smith, Paddy McNair and Riley McGree also fully fit following their respective recoveries from injury.

Middlesbrough (probable, 4-2-3-1): Steffen; Smith, McNair, Lenihan, Giles; Mowatt, Hackney; Jones, Akpom, McGree; Archer.


HOW ARE COVENTRY SHAPING UP?

Unlike Middlesbrough, whose play-off was assured weeks ago, Coventry were fretting on a top-six finish until the final whistle of the final game of the season at the Riverside last weekend.

As a result, whereas Michael Carrick has been resting players in the last few weeks and refusing to take any risks with his injured players, Mark Robins has been forced to play his strongest side in all of Coventry’s matches.

Robins’ main selection poser ahead of Sunday’s game revolves around whether to restore Ben Sheaf to the starting line-up.

Sheaf was an unused substitute as he returned to the squad from an injury lay-off at the weekend, but with a full week’s training under his belt, the midfielder could well be restored to Coventry’s starting side on Sunday.

Coventry (probable, 3-5-2): Wilson; McNally, McFadzean, Doyle; Norton-Cuffy, Hamer, Sheaf, Eccles, Bidwell; Godden, Gyokeres.