Meet the opposition | Middlesbrough
As Swansea City prepare to take on Middlesbrough, we take a closer look at the Teessiders.
WHAT'S THEIR STORY?
Having spent all bar one season between 1995 and 2009 in the Premier League - with a best finish of seventh in 2005 - Middlesbrough have been in the Championship for 15 of the 16 campaigns since.
A brief return to the top-flight in 2016 saw them struggle in front of goal, coming straight back down with only five wins and 27 goals, the lowest tally recorded during that season.
They reached the play-offs in 2018 and 2023, and are firmly in the promotion hunt as they battle to secure an automatic promotion spot.
Boro famously reached the UEFA Cup final in 2006 while, in a successful 2004-05 season, they secured League Cup glory by beating Bolton in Cardiff.
HOW'S THEIR FORM?
Middlesbrough have lost just two of their last 13 Championship games, but such is the competition for that final automatic promotion spot, that it has not been enough to draw them clear of the chasing pack.
Heading into the Easter weekend they were winless in three, having lost to Charlton and drawn with Bristol City and Blackburn, and went on to lose 2-1 to fellow promotion hopefuls Millwall.
Boro have lost just one of their last seven away games.
WHO'S THE GAFFER?
Kim Hellberg. The Swede joined Boro as head coach in late November after the departure of Rob Edwards to take over at Wolves.
The 38-year-old played as a midfielder in the lower divisions in Sweden and started his coaching career before he hung up his boots at the age of just 22.
He enjoyed almost instant success in coaching, achieving four promotions with his first three clubs before his he was added to the coaching staff at top-tier IFK Norrkoping.
Head coach positions at IFK Varnamo and Hammarby IF followed, and at the latter he led them to back-to-back runners-up finishes in the Allsvenskan and into European competition before making the move to Teesside in November.
WHO'S THE CAPTAIN?
Dael Fry was born and raised in Middlesbrough, and came thrrough the academy ranks to be a staple of the first-team squad over much of the past decade.
The centre-half took over the captaincy this season following the departure of skipper Jonny Howson, and is rapidly closing in on 300 appearances in all competitions for his boyhood club since making his debut as a 17-year-old in 2015.
His only professional outings away from the Teesside club came via a short loan spell with Rotherham United during the 2016-17 campaign.
Fry's height makes him effective in both boxes, but is also mobile and possesses a deceptive turn of pace.
WHO ARE THE KEY MEN?
Young striker Tommy Conway was a high-profile signing in the summer of 2024 arriving for a reported £4.5million fee from Bristol City.
He got 13 goals to his name in his first campaign on Teesside, and his importance only increased since the January departure of Emmanuel Latte Lath to MLS side Atlanta United.
The Taunton-born Scotland international came through the academy ranks with Bristol City, and made his senior debut for the Robins towards the end of the 2020-21 season.
The 2022-23 campaign saw him make the breakthrough to become a regular, with his industry and pace making him a nuisance for opposition defenders.
He scored 20 Championship goals in 82 outings for City, and also came to wider attention when he scored against top-flight West Ham United in the original tie and the replay when Bristol knocked the Hammers out of the Emirates FA Cup last season.
Boro academy product Hayden Hackney joined the club at under-10 level. After becoming a mainstay during the 2022-23 season, Hayden carried on his form into the 2023-24 campaign, featuring in 21 games for Michael Carrick.
Hackney managed to get the only goal of the game in front of a sold-out Riverside in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Chelsea last season and his impressively consistent levels of performance have seen him tipped for a very bright future.
Still only 23, he brought up a century of appearances for the Teessiders last year, and was part of the England Under-21 squad that won the European Championship last summer.
He has been the subject of interest from Premier League clubs, but he has remained with Boro and remains a vitally important player, although he missed the game against Millwall through injury and, at the time of writing, is a doubt to face the Swans.
Morgan Whittaker is Middlesbrough's topscorer this season with 11 to his name, and has also created a further six.
He is approaching the end of his first full season on Teesside, having joined from Plymouth Argyle in January 2025.
Whittaker started his career at Derby County before joining the Swans in early 2021.
He had a loan spell at Lincoln City during the 2021-2022 season where he scored five goals and set up one in 17 appearances, and he ended his time with the Swans with six goals in 37 appearances, including a hat-trick in a Carabao Cup tie against Plymouth.
Whittaker went on to enjoy a productive loan spell with the Pilgrims before a recall to Swansea, and that move became permanent after Plymouth sealed promotion to the Championship, with his goals a key factor in Argyle avoiding the drop during the 2023-24 campaign.
He left Home Park for Boro 15 months ago, and his goals have played a big part in their automatic promotion push.