Middlesbrough v West Brom live stream, Saturday 30 July, 5.30pm BST
Two of the pre-season favourites for promotion from the Championship will go head-to-head at Saturday teatime, as Middlesbrough welcome West Bromwich Albion to the Riverside Stadium.
Boro narrowly missed out on the play-offs last time out. They finished seventh, five points behind Luton Town in sixth, and were left to rue a costly five-game winless run towards the end of the campaign. Yet there were still plenty of positives to take from the season, especially as the team had been languishing in the bottom half of the table when Chris Wilder replaced Neil Warnock in November.
The presence of Wilder in the dugout is what gives Boro fans belief for the campaign ahead. The Yorkshireman knows what it takes to win promotion from this division, having done so with Sheffield United just three years ago.
An innovative coach, Wilder was strongly linked with the Burnley job last season but he remains in the northeast at the start of 2022/23. He has strengthened his squad by bringing in four players on free transfers, as well as signing Marcus Forss permanently from Brentford and agreeing loan deals for Zack Steffen and Ryan Giles.
West Brom were hugely underwhelming last term. A decent first half of the season saw them in and around the promotion mix, but their form fell off a cliff after Christmas and Valerien Ismael paid for the dramatic downturn with his job.
His replacement, Steve Bruce, steadied the ship and will now be targeting promotion to the Premier League with a third different club, having already taken Birmingham City and Hull City from second flight to first.
The Baggies have recruited proven Championship talent in John Swift and Jed Wallace, while former loanee Okay Yokuslu is back at The Hawthorns on a permanent basis. Sam Johnstone has joined Crystal Palace, so David Button will step up as West Brom's new No.1.
Kick-off is at 5.30pm BST on Saturday 30 July, and the game is being broadcast live by Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football. See below for international broadcast options.
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VPN guide
Use a VPN to watch Premier league football from outside your country
If you’re out of the country for a round of Premier League fixtures, then annoyingly your domestic on-demand services won’t work – the broadcaster knows where you are because of your IP address (boo!). You'll be blocked from watching it, which is not ideal if you’ve paid up for a subscription and still want to catch the action without resorting to illegal feeds you’ve found on Reddit.
But assistance is on hand. To get around that, all you have to do is get a Virtual Private Network (VPN), assuming it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs. A VPN creates a private connection between your device and t'internet, meaning the service can’t work out where you are and won't automatically block the service you've paid for. All the info going between is entirely encrypted – and that's a result.
There are plenty of good-value options out there, including:
UK TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for UK subscribers
Sky Sports and BT Sport are the two main players once again, but Amazon also have a slice of the pie in 2021/22.
US TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for US subscribers
NBC Sports Group are the Premier League rights holders, with the Peacock Premium streaming platform showing even more than the 175 games it aired last season, with other matches split between NBCSN channel, CNBC and the over-the-air NBC broadcast channel. If you pick up a fuboTV subscription for the games not on Peacock Premium, you'll be able to watch every game.
Head back to our VPN advice so you can take advantage when you're out of the country.
Canada TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for Canadian subscribers
DAZN subscribers can watch every single Premier League game in 2021/22 – and it gets better. After a one-month free trial, you'll only have to pay a rolling $20-a-month fee, or make it an annual subscription of $150.
The broadcaster also has all the rights to Champions League and Europa League games in Canada, too.
Want in while you're out of Canada? Scroll back up and check out the VPN offers above.
Australia TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for Australian subscribers
Optus Sport are offering every game of the Premier League season for just $14.99/month for non-subscribers, which you can get via a Fetch TV box and other friendly streaming devices.
To take advantage while you're not Down Under, follow the VPN advice towards the top of this page.
New Zealand TV rights
How to watch a Premier League live stream for New Zealand subscribers
Spark Sport are serving up all 380 games – plus various highlights and magazine shows throughout the week, as well as the Champions League – for $24.99 a month, after a seven-day free trial.
It's also available via web browsers, Apple/Android devices, Google Chromecast and some Samsung TVs, and Apple TV and Smart TV compatibility new for this season.
Check out our VPN deals to watch when you’re not in New Zealand.
