The 42nd matchday of the 2021-22 EFL Championship saw promotion contenders Bournemouth host playoffs contenders Middlesbrough on Good Friday. Both of them came into the clash after a disappointing result in their previous outing where Middlesbrough lost 1-0 against Hull City and Bournemouth got a draw against Sheffield United.
The teams came into the game in search of three points given both of them have a set target before the regular season ends where Bournemouth are eyeing a direct promotion to the top flight while Middlesbrough wants to clinch one of the four playoff spots.
But both of them decided to not lose and settled for a draw with each of them taking a point home after the match.
This article features the tactical analysis of the game and discusses the tactics used by both teams and how they neutralised each other. Let’s begin the analysis.
Lineups
Scott Parker made two changes to the lineup that played against Sheffield United with Ethan Laird and Todd Cantwell replacing Jordan Zemura and Siriki Dembele as Parker looked to retain most of his general playing 11 without making much bigger changes given the things to play for with just 4-5 games left.
Middlesbrough, on the other hand, made three changes to the lineup that lost 1-0 against Hull City with Sol Bamba, Isaiah Jones and Duncan Watmore coming into the lineup in place of Dael Fry, Riley McGree and Folarin Balogun as Wilder also decided to keep the majority of his lineup.
Middlesbroughs defensive plan
It was clear from the start that both teams had a thing to play for going into this clash and both of are going to approach the game with patience and clarity without too many complications. Middlesbrough and Chris Wilder decided to do the exact same thing where they prioritised their defensive shape and structure to ensure that Bournemouth did very little without possession.
