MIDDLESBROUGH v LEICESTER CITY ( Championship )
Wednesday 28th September 2011 – Kickoff: 1945hrs
Middlesbrough take on Leicester City at the Riverside Stadium on Wednesday night and will be looking to extend their unbeaten run to nine games and build on their magnificent start to their Championship campaign.
Boro are lying second to Southampton and their home record stands at 1-3-0 6/4, with their win coming against poor travelling Birmingham City 3-1, but draws versus Portsmouth 2-2, Coventry City 1-1 and Ipswich Town 0-0. Another win tonight could see them top of the table depending on Southampton’s and Tuesday night results.
Manager Tony Mowbray has made a great start with his squad so far, and has striker Marvin Emnes (5 goals) firing, along with Scott McDonald (1 goal, 3 assists), Scottish midfielder Barry Robson (2 goals, 1 assist), along with other important midfielders Joseph Bennett and Nick Bailey (1 goal, 1 assist each).
In addition, Middlesbrough have secured away wins at Leeds United, Barnsley, Burnley and Crystal Palace.
Tonight’s opponents, Leicester City shared a 0-0 stalemate with fellow promotion hopefuls Cardiff City on Sunday afternoon which moved them up to 9th place. The Foxes have also strung together a five-match unbeaten run which has included wins over Southampton and Brighton, and although these are great wins in their own right, they both happened at the Walkers Stadium.
Away from home their one win so far was at unpredictable Coventry City 1-0, while drawing at Nottingham Forest, Barnsley and Cardiff City. Maybe it’s just me, but there’s a semblance to the way Eriksson’s squad is set up away from home to when he was in charge of the national team; retain possession, absorb pressure and hit on the counter. Oh, and play for the draw.
Their away record reads 1-3-0 4/3, and remain unbeaten on the road along with the likes of Middlesbrough, West Ham, Cardiff City, Barnsley and Watford. I’m not saying that I don’t think Leicester have done well this season, they have, but when you look at the odds for Middlesbrough in this fixture, I need to put forward some interesting points about this match;
Let’s look at the facts;
1) Middlesbrough, second in the league and playing at home
2) Under Sven Goran Eriksson, Leicester City have won just 7 out of their 22 away matches under his managership
With this in mind, I’m backing Middlesbrough with the round ball (AH0) as they are going well at the moment and have home advantage – plus the prices of covering the draw are very generous in my opinion.
Main Pick: Middlesbrough AH0 @ 1.62 Sportingbet
Value Pick: Middlesbrough straight win @ 2.30 Sportingbet, Ladbrokes or William Hill
