Gareth Southgate says his side must learn from their away losses ahead of the Wear-Tees derby.
Boro boss keen to address form with derby success
Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate has urged his side to learn from their two away losses this season ahead of next weekend's Wear-Tees derby.
Boro slipped to their second away defeat of the term on Saturday as Portsmouth came from a goal down to triumph 2-1 at Fratton Park.
Southgate's men have now failed to claim victory on their travels in 10 Premier League games, and face a stern test in ending that record when they face Sunderland.
The Boro manager is refusing to dwell on last term's form, but admitted they must improve ahead of the North East derby at the Stadium of Light.
Injuries
He said: "We've got a massive game coming up at Sunderland and need to take into that some of the lessons we've learned from the two away defeats this season.
"We were really unfortunate at Liverpool. Last season's record is irrelevant. This is a different team now but we know we didn't perform in the second half at Portsmouth."
Southgate went on to confirm Didier Digard sustained a knee injury against Pompey, while Marvin Emnes is struggling with a calf problem.
He added: "Those two will have to be assessed this week and we've also got Mohamed Shawky out with a hamstring he injured playing for Egypt and Tuncay Sanli who hurt his knee with Turkey."
