Dimi Konstantopoulos sends Middlesbrough message ahead of Coventry City match

Middlesbrough host Coventry City at The Riverside Stadium tonight in a bid to make the Championship play-off final at Wembley against Luton Town.

The fourth and fifth-placed sides played out a 1-1 draw in the final game of the campaign, which secured Coventry’s play-off place, and the first leg saw them draw again 0-0 at the Coventry Building Society Arena.

Michael Carrick’s team looked the more dangerous of the two sides throughout, with Chuba Akpom and Isaiah Jones forcing saves from Coventry goalkeeper Ben Wilson in the first half.

Mark Robins team were lucky to head into the second leg level as Akpom had a golden opportunity to open the scoring, seeing his attempt hit the woodwork, in a contest that saw the Sky Blues fail to have a shot on target.

Boro did very well to keep Coventry’s star forward Viktor Gyokeres quiet, with their game plan to nullify his threat working out well in a tight affair.

Despite Boro not scoring, the result will suit them more and they will go through to the play-off final tonight if they win at home, where that advantage could be key for them.

Luton Town await them at Wembley on May 27th, after they secured a 2-0 win at Kenilworth Road over Sunderland, which gave them a 3-2 victory overall on aggregate.

What has Dimi Konstantopoulos said ahead of Middlesbrough vs Coventry City?

The former Middlesbrough ‘keeper has sent his side a good luck message ahead of the clash, he took to Twitter to voice his support and said: “Good luck to Boro tonight! I’ll be there as a fan this time.”

Replying to a fan, he added: “Can’t get better than getting promoted in a full Riverside.”

Konstantopoulos is a former Coventry and Middlesbrough player, having played 28 times for the Sky Blues from 2007-2010.

He departed the club to return to his native Greece, where he played for AOK Kerkyara and AEK Athens, before joining Middlesbrough in 2013.

The 44-year-old stayed at Boro until 2019 and amassed 112 appearances for the club in that time, finishing as runner-up in the Championship with the Teesiders in the 2015/16 campaign.

He retired in 2021 after brief stints with Hartlepool United and Thornaby. Konstantopoulos is now assistant manager with Greek Super League side Panetolikos FC.

Will Middlesbrough beat Coventry City in the play-offs?

The game is on a knife’s edge, but the 0-0 draw definitely suited Carrick’s side more, and Boro will go into the second leg as favourites now.

It was crucial for Middlesbrough to avoid defeat and it gives them a good platform for the game tonight between the two sides.

Both sides have strong final-third difference makers, though. Akpom, Gyokeres, Cameron Archer and more can all be decisive in big moments, which is what it could ultimately come down to.