Michael Carrick’s men will hopefully put on a Lord Mayor’s Show in the mouth-watering derby clash against big rivals Sunderland.

After all, Middlesbrough are defending a proud record in home derbies against the Wearsiders. Boro have been beaten in Tees-Wear derbies on only three occasions since 1997, while before that they remained unbeaten at home for 35 years against the Black Cats.

Unfortunately not all derbies are humdingers. They can be tight affairs. But the main thing is that the Teesside faithful leave the stadium with a smile on their faces. And it’s remarkable how often an early derby goal for the Boro decides the issue.

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The biggest most recent clash Tees-Wear battle came in the Premier League in 2017 – and to say that it was a nail-biting affair was an understatement. Boro eventually ground out a 1-0 win thanks to an eighth minute goal from Dutch midfielder Marten de Roon. Things were so hard at that time that this was actually Boro’s very first victory in 2017.

Both sides were struggling to keep their places in the top flight. In fact Boro’s win virtually condemned David Moyes’ Sunderland to the drop. De Roon’s early goal, when he fired through the legs of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, was the first time that Boro had scored in the first ten minutes in any game at the Riverside since Tuncay netted a third minute goal against Hull City in 2009.

It was a very welcome goal for the home fans to cheer. They had enjoyed this pleasure in only 13 games at the Riverside previously throughout the season. It was also a welcome first win for caretaker manager Steve Agnew, who had taken over the reins following the sacking of Aitor Karanka. Agnew had inherited a near impossible situation with a disjointed squad lacking self belief.

Another interesting stat from this game was that Rudy Gestede was brought on as a late sub for Boro and finally ended an unwanted personal Premier League record of playing in 43 games without tasting a victory!

Both sides ended up in the Championship the following season and on this occasion met twice at the Riverside, with Boro winning them both. The two games lacked the pressure of that in the top flight though they were again tight affairs.

Boro opened with a 1-0 league win, once again thanks to an early goal, this time from Marcus Tavernier. Eighteen years old Tavernier, who was making his full home league debut, netted with a clinical finish from a cross from Danish international Martin Braithwaite.

The win took Garry Monk’s men up to fifth place in the Championship, while leaving manager-less Sunderland rooted to the bottom. The Black Cats, who had parted company with Moyes following relegation, had just sacked replacement boss Simon Grayson.

They were being led jointly by caretakers Billy McKinlay and Redcar-born Robbie Stockdale, the latter having been a regular member of the Boro side during the Bryan Robson and Steve McClaren eras.

Sunderland were back at the Riverside in early January – for an FA Cup third round clash – with both sides having new bosses at the helm. Boro had relieved Monk of his duties a couple of days before Christmas after failing to push on following the first Sunderland victory.

Tony Pulis was now in charge of the Boro reins, while Sunderland had appointed Pulis’s fellow Welshman Chris Coleman into the hot seat. This time it was slightly easier for Boro who won 2-0. Once again they took an early lead when Gestede slid the ball under the body of Sunderland and former Boro keeper Jason Steele. The second goal came three minutes before half-time when Steele came out to meet a Stewart Downing corner but failed to make any meaningful contact, leaving Braithwaite with an easy tap-in.

The McClaren years brought two fine derby wins for the Boro, the first one coming in McClaren’s first season in charge. Boro won 2-0, having survived the final 20 minutes with ten men when Paul Ince was dismissed by referee Mark Halsey for putting his hands on the face of Sunderland striker Niall Quinn.

Once again, the opening goal came in the early minutes. This time the goal came from the head of Frenchman Franck Queudrue, making his Boro debut, when he beat Black Cats’ keeper Thomas Sorensen to a Carlos Marinelli corner. Boro doubled their advantage in 21 minutes when Croatian front-runner Alen Boksic connected with a cross from Szilard Nemeth. Stockdale was in the winning Boro side that day while Sunderland included Julio Arca, who was later to link up with Boro.

The following season Boro recorded an even bigger win in the Tees-Wear clash, this time beating Peter Reid’s Black Cats by 3-0. The leading light for Boro was Italian striker Massimo Maccarone, who ran Sunderland ragged throughout, scoring one goal and making another two for Nemeth.

McClaren had gone for a more positive approach for the derby, starting with attacker Nemeth ahead of midfielder George Boateng. This time Boro had to wait until the 17 th minute for the breakthrough when Sorensen failed to hold a stinging drive from Maccarone and Nemeth pounced on the loose ball to slot home.

Boro made it 2-0 before the interval when Maccarone headed home from a free kick. In the second half Maccarone opened up the Sunderland defence again with a storming run and set up Nemeth, who lifted the ball over the head of the advancing Sorensen.

Two minutes later Nemeth came within a whisker of netting a hat trick when he went on a weaving run only for Sorensen to make superb save from his goalbound shot. Boro were so much in control that McClaren was able to leave Boksic on the bench as an unused sub.

Another season when the two sides met twice at the Riverside was in 1997-98, when Robson’s side recorded two wins in the League and the League Cup. The League cup win came first in the October when Boro won 2-0 thanks to goals from Andy Campbell and Craig Hignett.

The win came at the third round stage, Boro having beaten Third Division Barnet over two legs in the second round. In fact, Boro went on to reach the final of the competition for the second year in a row, beating Bolton, Reading and Liverpool on the way to losing the final by 2-0 to Chelsea.

In the league, Boro entertained Sunderland in the February and won 3-1, with new boy Italian Marco Branca becoming an instant cult hero on Teesside by scoring twice. Alun Armstrong grabbed the other goal.

Another notable milestone Boro derby win was in 1975, when Jack Charlton’s Boro beat Sunderland 3-1 with goals from Bobby Murdoch and two John Hickton penalties. This was the very last occasion when Ayresome Park was filled to capacity – with 39,400 fans – before safety regulations drastically reduced the ground capacity in the early Eighties.

Then there’s the legendary match in 1957 when referee Kevin Howley disallowed a penalty goal from Lindy Delapenha after the ball had escaped through a hole in the net, making the ref believe that the shot had gone wide. Boro still won 2-0 with strikes from Arthur Fitzsimons and Brian Clough, neither of which fortunately found the hole in the net.

No doubt there will be no holes in the Boro net on Monday, while an early goal for Carrick’s men will fit the bill nicely. Either way, another three big points against Sunderland on home turf will do nicely.