PERHAPS it is just a statistical quirk. Maybe, there is something more deep-rooted. Either way, when Middlesbrough take on Bristol City at the Riverside this afternoon, they won’t just be trying to beat the opposition lining up in front of them, they will be attempting to confound one of the strangest sequences in the Championship.

Over the last decade-and-a-half, Boro have a worse record against Bristol City than against any other Championship side. Of the last 26 meetings between the two teams, only six have resulted in a Middlesbrough win. Bristol City, on the other hand, have claimed 15 victories, with five of the matches ending in a draw.

Of the last 13 games between the two sides at the Riverside, only two have finished in a win for the home team. Last season, Boro conceded two goals in the space of two first-half minutes as they lost 2-1.  Back in 2021, they shipped three goals the opening 37 minutes as they were beaten 3-1.

Teams in the top-flight often rack up lengthy losing sequences against the same opposition, but they tend to involve matches against a Manchester City or a Liverpool. Bristol City, for all that they have been Championship stalwarts for a while now, have rarely been battling at the top of the table, swatting aside whoever stood in their way.

That makes Boro’s struggles against them even harder to fathom, but as he prepares to oversee the latest attempt to start righting a succession of wrongs, Michael Carrick will not be spending too much time pondering the impact of fate. This is a different Boro team from previous incarnations taking on a Bristol City side sitting in 16th place in the Championship. The history books can say whatever they like, Carrick is firmly focused on achieving a home win.

“There’s probably always a reason for it (the results against Bristol City), but not every game is the same so you can’t really cluster it together,” said the Boro boss. “That’s the way it’s panned out though.

READ MORE:

“I actually think we’ve played particularly well in the last couple of trips down to their ground and not got the results. Last season here, it was a two-minute spell, conceding two goals and making it difficult for us.

“They’re a good team though, and they’re definitely well-coached. They’ve got some really dangerous players and it’s another tough challenge. As for historically and what it feels like for the last couple of years or so, though, I don’t think that comes into play come Saturday.”

What should be more relevant is the question of whether or not Boro can iron out some of the errors that have proved so costly so far this season.

On most metrics in either defence or attack – expected goals, big-chances created, passing success rate, opposition touches in the Boro box – Carrick’s side are amongst the top four or five teams in the league.

They have been conceding soft goals at one end, though, while failing to convert enough of the chances they have been creating at the other. Clearly, that is not a good mix. But as Carrick has been stressing for most of the last two months, he can take solace from the way in which his side are playing. Eventually, though, as he also accepts, they will have to start turning promising performances into points.

“In the last three games, then other than that last 15 minutes against Watford, I think we’ve been really good,” he said. “We’re doing a lot of really productive things.

“There’s always a bit of sharpening up to do here and there, but largely, I’m quite pleased with the way we’re playing. I think we’re really close, but we now need to make that count. We need to be picking up results.

“We’ve had a good period (over the international break), good training with the boys working really hard when we’ve been in. We’ve used it to balance things off ready for the next push.”