Football – England – Championship
Saturday 23rd August 2014 – Kickoff: 1500hrs
With having played just one home match in their first four fixtures of the new campaign, Middlesbrough will be glad to return to their Riverside Stadium this afternoon to continue their good work against visitors Sheffield Wednesday.
Middlesbrough opened their account with a 2-0 home win over Birmingham City which was then followed with a resounding 3-0 away win at League One outfit Oldham Athletic in the first round of the Capital One Cup.
Boro then suffered their first defeat of the season when they went down 0-1 at Elland Road against Leeds United, but they quickly bounced back with another away win at Bolton Wanderers, the Tynesiders winning that encounter 2-1 on Tuesday night.
Manager Karanka has made a positive effect on his squad since his arrival as Boro have lost on just three occasions in their last twelve matches (and two of those were away from home). A solid midfield consisting of Leadbitter and Whitehead (who both possess Premier League experience) along with Adomah and Clayton, will look to supply the forward line of Kike, Nsue and Tomlin.
Sheffield Wednesday play just their second away match of the season when they make the trip to Middlesbrough this afternoon on the back of three straight home matches. Wednesday’s first away match ended in a successful 1-0 win at Brighton, and The Owls still remain unbeaten so far this season.
They beat Notts County 3-0 in the first round of the Capital One Cup before two home draws against Derby County 0-0 and Millwall 1-1, and a word of caution here as Wednesday racked up 10 draws away from home last season along with Nottingham Forest and Watford.
Manager Stuart Gray may well set his side up here this afternoon to make life difficult for hosts Middlesbrough, and basically ‘park the bus’ so to speak.
I believe Middlesbrough have a bit more about them though under the guidance of Karanka, and I reckon they’re a decent chance to walk away with the points at the Riverside today in what could be a 2-1 win for the hosts, but again I recommend giving the quarter ball taking into consideration Wednesday’s away draw patterns.
Pick: Middlesbrough AH-0.25 @ 1.61 Bet Victor
