Football – England – Championship
Saturday 29th November 2014 – Kickoff: 1500hrs
Next up is a top six clash in the Championship as 3rd placed Middlesbrough take on 6th placed Blackburn Rovers at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday afternoon with an important three points at stake for both teams.
Middlesbrough go into this afternoon’s encounter unbeaten in their last five matches overall, which consists of wins over Rotherham United and Norwich City, along with three draws against Watford, Bournemouth and Wigan Athletic. Looking at the bigger picture, Boro’s form has been very steady indeed as they’ve suffered just one defeat from their last thirteen in the Championship, the defeat being a 0-2 loss away at Wolves.
On home turf, Middlesbrough have lost just twice in an overall record of 4-3-2 16/6 and are unbeaten in their last six, again, drawing three of these last six. Midfielder Grant Leadbitter (8 goals) leads the way for Boro along with forwards Kike and Bamford who are also possible anytime goalscorers.
Visitors Blackburn Rovers currently lie in 6th place but are just two points behind Middlesbrough in a congested top six in the English second tier. In fact, just five points separates Blackburn with Championship league leaders Derby County and a win today for Rovers could see them not only move into the top three but also reduce the 5 point deficit.
However, this looks to be a very tricky fixture indeed for the visitors as Middlesbrough have been difficult to beat overall lately, but Rovers are also unbeaten in their last eight ahead of today’s clash. Rovers have been beaten just once in their last eleven overall which was a 0-2 loss at Rotherham United, while their overall away record stands at an indifferent 3-3-3 12/14.
Blackburn are unbeaten in their last four on the road of which three of these matches have ended in a draw, along with a win at Nottingham Forest. Strikers Rhodes and Gestede should keep Rovers out of trouble here this afternoon.
Both teams have been in solid form over the last couple of months and I believe we could well be heading for another stalemate here as there’s not much to choose from between the two sides. I’ll go for perhaps a 1-1 draw here.
Pick: Draw @ 3.75 Bet Victor
