Edwards: Seize the opportunity

ROB Edwards will make changes to his Middlesbrough team for the Carabao Cup first-round clash with Doncaster Rovers, and has challenged those coming into the side to stake their claim.

- 

Boro host the League One club at the Riverside tonight in the middle of two important Championship games.

They beat Swansea City on Saturday and face a tough trip to Millwall on Saturday which the Boro boss will have to consider when picking his team for the cup tie.

Particularly at this stage of the season, players are still building their sharpness and are therefore at an increased risk of muscle injury, which the Boro boss will hope to avoid. That's particularly the case for Boro too, with Edwards implementing a new high-tempo, aggressive style of play.

While Edwards isn’t expected to make 11 changes from the side that beat Swansea City at the weekend, a number of fringe players will be hoping for opportunities. They could include the likes of Micah Hamilton, Law McCabe, Abdoulaye Kante, Alex Gilbert and Marcus Forss.

Edwards said: “There will be a few. It won't be wholesale changes but there will be some. We want whoever comes in to seize the opportunity. The team that starts the season is never a team that finishes it.