Middlesbrough boss Chris Wilder takes no heed of West Brom's form ahead of clash

Wilder, who came close to becoming Baggies boss last summer, has engineered a revival at the Riverside Stadium since replacing Neil Warnock in the hotseat in November.

Boro had won eight out of 11 league matches before going down 2-1 at Bristol City on Saturday to drop to seventh in the table.

Albion have fallen to 11th following a run of just one win in 10 but Wilder expects a serious test from the visitors.

He said: “You look at the group they have got. Steve (Bruce) is trying to turn the style back to what it was when Slaven Bilic was manager, in terms of using the talented and technical players they have got. There was obviously a change at the start of the season.

“If you look at their group they have arguably the best goalkeeper in the division and have talented players all over the pitch. The majority of them were playing in the Premier League last year. This is still a tough game regardless of current form.

“They’ve had some quite tough games under Steve. Him being the winner he is I am sure he will be eager to get his reign up and running.

“They are a really talented team who would expect to be higher up in the table but that is the nature of the division, how tough it is.”

The hosts will be without Matt Crooks through suspension, with January signing Riley McGree favourite to replace him in midfield.

“Riley is a talented boy,” said Wilder. “I am excited to work with him. He was my first real permanent signing here. He is technically very good, physically very good and has a fabulous mentality.”