GARRY MONK is hoping this evening’s Carabao Cup trip to Bournemouth will be an ideal opportunity for Middlesbrough to kick-start their season and emerge from their current difficult spell.

The Teessiders travel to the Vitality Stadium looking to make the quarter-finals of the League Cup, having already seen off Scunthorpe United and Aston Villa in this season’s competition.

Those victories helped generate momentum earlier in the season, but since winning at Villa Park, Boro have played five league matches without securing a victory.

That run has left them in the bottom half of the Championship table, and resulted in questions about the lack of progress in the opening two-and-a-half months of the campaign.

Making the last eight of the League Cup would help rewrite the narrative, and Monk is hoping tonight’s game will help generate some momentum ahead of Saturday’s league game at Reading.

Bournemouth put their own slow start behind them at the weekend as they won at Swansea City, but with Eddie Howe set to make a host of changes, Boro should have every chance of springing a surprise on the South coast.

“It’s the most important game because it’s the next one,” said Monk. “Like we’ve done in all the cup games, we’ll be going there trying to win. We’ve had good displays in the competition so far, and we’re looking forward to the game.

“We’ve dusted ourselves down since the weekend, although we’re still frustrated by the defeat. We’re in a period where things maybe aren’t going our way, but the next game is always a good chance to bounce back.

“It’s a cup game, and we’ll look forward to it. It’s against a Premier League side, so it’s always going to be difficult, but we’ll go down there with the right attitude. We’ll be going there to try to win the game.”

Monk made a number of changes for Boro’s pervious two Carabao Cup games, offering opportunities to the likes of Marcus Tavernier and Lewis Wing.

The duo are expected to be part of tonight’s squad, although it remains to be seen whether they will be risked against Premier League opposition given their lack of senior experience.

George Friend is likely to start at left-back, having been out of the Championship side since the end of August, and Adam Clayton could also return to the starting line-up after sitting out Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Cardiff City.

Patrick Bamford is expected to fill one of the attacking positions, with Marvin Johnson also set to be involved after dropping out of the starting line-up for the last couple of league games.

“We were back in (on Sunday) and that was a chance to assess the players and see how things were,” said Monk. “As always, you pick a side to try to go down there and do well.

“We’ve done that in the competition so far, and we’ll be doing it again. I’ll be picking a side that I think can put on a performance and help us to win the game.”