Middlesbrough have shocked everyone since the appointment of former Manchester United player Michael Carrick as their manager. The former English Premier League winner has taken his side to third place in the EFL Championship. They are the most in-form team in the competition. Chuba Akpom has played a huge role in their success. He was the lone warrior at the start of the season. However, things have turned around lately. His other teammates have started to take the limelight away from him. One of the players is their summer signing from Brentford, Marcus Forss. The Finnish international joined Boro in the summer and is now leading his side to promotion.
Marcus Forss made a slow start to his life in Middlesbrough colours. He scored only two goals in his first 17 appearances and provided two assists along with them. The World Cup break was a huge help in his short career at Boro. Since the resumption of action after the World Cup, Forss has scored five goals in 11 matches. We now look at some of the stats that show how the 23-year-old has started to settle in with the team.
How has he fared against the other strikers?
Marcus Forss has seven goals and four assists in 28 appearances for Middlesbrough this season. He has started 18 matches. The above viz shows the percentile rank of the player in comparison to other strikers in the EFL Championship. It shows that the player has an average percentile rank in most of the departments. He is rated highly for positioning and goal contributions.
The 23-year-old Finnish international averages 1.86 shots per match and has an accuracy rate of 43.8%. He starts on the right side but often finds space inside the opposition penalty box. The above xG map shows that all the goals have been scored from inside the penalty box, with one coming off the penalty spot.
Forss post the World Cup
Marcus Forss found his touch after the World Cup break. His team has played 11 matches in the EFL Championship since that time and the player has netted five goals. Forss has taken 18 shots in these 11 matches and ten have been on target. His accuracy rate has improved a lot. The xG map above shows that all these goals have been scored from a similar position inside the box.
As mentioned earlier, Forss plays on the right side of the field. His touch map above also indicates the same. Overall, the player has taken 55 touches inside the penalty box. Of these 55 touches, 31 were made in the last 11 matches. These also include three touches inside the six-yard box. The player has grown in confidence and is taking more attacking positions.
The 23-year-old has also shown his creative side as well. He has four assists and two came in these 11 matches. Marcus Forss has only six shot assists this season of which four came in the last 11 matches. The assists provided by him are low crosses inside the opposition penalty box. Overall, the player averages 1.11 passes into the opposition penalty box.
Betting Analysis
Marcus Forss’s inclusion in the team will lower Middlesbrough’s odds rate whenever they are playing against a weaker team. As per the over/under lines, the over is likely to thrive as the player is capable of scoring and creating goals.
Michael Carrick will be happy with the way his striker is playing. He is becoming a huge asset on the side. Middlesbrough are fighting to get back into the top division. They need their players to stay at the top of their game in order to get automatic promotion. Marcus Forss will be one of them.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
