Middlesbrough resume Championship action on Saturday afternoon as they travel to southeast Wales to face Cardiff City.
Michael Carrick‘s side are out of the promotion picture and have little riding on the remaining two games of the season.
Though, that gives the Boro boss a chance to assess some of his fringe players, who may get the opportunity to impress.
Academy stars such as Sonny Finch may feature, so too might a rarely-seen 23-year-old who hasn’t started a game all season.
Michael Carrick should start Matthew Hoppe vs Cardiff City
Matthew Hoppe joined Middlesbrough during the summer of 2022, arriving from LaLiga outfit RCD Mallorca for a fee believed to be in the region of £2.5m.
Hoppe’s career on Teesside hasn’t gone according to plan at all, as he’s made just six appearances without a goal or an assist.
The eight-cap USA international has been shipped out on two loan spells to Hibernian and San Jose, both with limited success, and returned from the latter at the end of last year.
The 23-year-old hasn’t had a look in since but did feature on the bench in the 4-3 defeat to Leeds United on Monday evening.
Now, whilst Hoppe clearly isn’t in Carrick’s plans, he should at least make an appearance against Cardiff to put him in the shop window ahead of the fast-approaching transfer window.
If Boro are to recoup some of the fee spent on the young forward, they’ll need to give him the platform to impress potential suitors.
The academy stars should feature vs Cardiff City
Middlesbrough are blessed with a number of academy players who look ready to make the grade at the Riverside Stadium.
Finch, as previously alluded to, should be given a run-out after tearing it up in the under-21s side for the past couple of seasons.
So too should Ajay Matthews, who is making a serious impression in the reserves, registering six goal contributions across as many starts in the Premier League 2.
The 17-year-old made his debut against Leeds, coming on as a substitute in the latter stages, evincing how highly rated he is by Carrick.
Matthews has been capped at youth level by England and is certainly one to watch for Middlesbrough supporters.