Neil Warnock explains how he could play Britt Assombalonga and Chuba Akpom together for Middlesbrough

Boro have kept five clean sheets in their last six games but have scored just nine times in ten league matches so far this term.

That is partly down to the squad’s lack of attacking options, with Assombalonga and Akpom the only fit strikers in the squad.

The pair played up front together when Akpom arrived at Boro in October, yet Warnock has opted to play with one forward in recent fixtures.

When asked about his strikers ahead of Saturday’s trip to Brentford, Warnock said: “You can’t get much better than them two.

“We are asking them to do a lot of work which is probably restricting their chances of scoring but they never complain.

“We lost Chuba for a bit but he’s come back looking sharp and Britt has soldiered on when he probably could have done with a rest before.”

Boro have switched to a 4-3-3 formation in their last two games against Nottingham Forest and Blackburn, with Hayden Coulson, Djed Spence and Marcus Tavernier providing options on the flanks.

As a result, Akpom has often come off the bench to replace Assombalonga in the central striker role, yet Warnock still believes the pair could play together.

“It’s probably easier playing the two of them when we play with wing-backs,” Warnock added.

“I think we have more natural wide players, like Coulson came in the other night. We have more natural players when we only play with one up front.”

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