Aston Villa in the play-offs: Five Boro players to look out for...

Sealing their place in the play-offs with a game to spare, Boro have one of the strongest squads in the league, here we pinpoint five players who could cause problems for the Villans.

Adama Traore

Villa fans know all about Traore thanks to an inconsistent spell at Villa Park before his move to Boro.

Pace and power has never been a problem for the Barcelona academy product, but his decision making and finishing touch often drew criticism at B6, and Villa fans will be hoping this is the case in the coming seven days.

He lasted all of four minutes during his trip back to Villa Park in September, seeing a straight red card for a reckless challenge on Conor Hourihane, a game in which Villa were forced to settle for a point.

In the final league meeting between the teams, he was brought on by Pulis in his first game in charge but couldn't stop the Villans from winning 1-0. He didn't feature in the Carabao Cup meeting between the sides.

But Villa fans will be foolish not to worry about him in some respect, purely because of his physical abilities.

He's bagged five goals this season, with none in his last eight, but he's also quite the creator for Boro, with 10 assists to his name.

Whoever's defending him will need to keep a keen eye on him.

Patrick Bamford

A man previously linked with a move to Villa Park, Bamford is a man coming into form at the perfect time for Boro.

Scoring 10 in the last 13 games, the striker is well-liked by Pulis and notched a brace against Villa in the cup earlier this season - albeit against a side with 10 men and numerous changes.

However Villa fans can rest somewhat easier in the fact that the young striker is streaky in terms of his scoring.

The bad news is he scored in Boro's last-gasp draw with Ipswich on the final day.

Let's hope that goal isn't the start of a streak which could cause all manner of problems for Steve Bruce.

Britt Assombalonga

With 15 goals this season, the £15m man joined Boro at the start of this season after a terrific campaign with Nottingham Forest.

A smart finisher and decent in the air, Assombalonga will no doubt be a man to worry about over two legs, and someone for James Chester or John Terry to keep quiet over 180 minutes.

He's had no luck against Villa this season, and Bruce will be hoping things stay that way as Villa do battle with Boro to book their place at Wembley.

The good news for Villa fans is that despite scoring in two of his last three, Assombalonga has failed to find the back of the net all that often under Pulis.

Stewart Downing

Another former Villan, and one who is likely to get his fair share of boos, especially at Villa Park despite his questionable departure dating back all the way to 2011.

Downing re-joined his boyhood club in 2015, and despite not being the player he was at Villa (when he notched eight goals in his final season at the club), he could be someone to watch if he's on-song.

He still has a good delivery and can crop up with the odd goal, as he did in Boro's final game of the season.

You'd back the Villa defence to keep him quiet though, with the 33-year-old hardly in the form of his life despite featuring regularly for Pulis.

Darren Randolph

You won't be looking out for Randolph in at attacking sense, that's for sure, but the former West Ham goalkeeper could have quite a part to play over the next week.

One of the better stoppers in the Championship, he played his part as Boro shut-out a Villa side banging on the door in the sides' 0-0 draw in September, although he arguably should've given away a penalty in that game.

Having recorded 16 clean sheets this season, Randolph - behind a strong defence, is more than capable of keeping his side in games from between the sticks.

That record pales in comparison to his opposite number in claret and blue of course, but Villa's strikers will be wise to make sure Randolph isn't given the chance to effect the semi-finals too much.