Middlesbrough v Sunderland Betting Tip Sunderland – 6 January 2018

Sunderland may just be value to spring shock

FA Cup & League Cup Tips

Saturday 6th January 2018 Kick off 1300hrs Middlesbrough v Sunderland City Football – England – FA Cup Games between Middlesbrough and Sunderland may not ignite all that much excitement amongst neutrals, but any meeting is much anticipated amongst the followers of both clubs. With the two clubs now in the Championship for the first time in well over a decade, this will be the second of three meetings between the North East clubs this season and the fact there is a place in the next round of the FA Cup at stake, it adds a bit more spice to what is usually a fiercely fought encounter.

Following relegation from the Premier League last season, Middlesbrough are already on their second manager of this campaign following the sacking of Garry Monk. Monk was relieved of his duties following an underwhelming first half of the season which seen them fail to make any impression on the automatic promotion places. That was the expectation following further significant investment from Steve Gibson so although they were a couple of points off the playoffs, the owner sought to bring in Tony Pulis with a view to really pushing on in the second half of the campaign. Pulis has not managed at this level for a decade bus his Premier League experience and his approach to football should stand him in good stead in the Championship. It has been a solid enough start to his time at the Riverside with two wins from his first three but the loss at home to rivals Aston Villa was a damaging one. It will place a touch more significance on Saturday’s clash with Sunderland as he attempts to instil a winning mentality within the squad – especially in crunch fixtures.

Sunderland were also relegated from the Premier League last season, following a dismal showing throughout the 2016/17 campaign. The Black Cats had used up all their lives when surviving year after year thanks to miraculous escapes in the last few weeks. Relegation also signalled a change in approach as the club had to cut their cloth accordingly and little money has been spent since returning to this level. Simon Grayson was initially charged with the task of establishing a squad of players capable of being competitive but it was an appointment that never lasted that long, eventually being replaced by Chris Coleman. The former Welsh national team manager has enjoyed some good results since taking over but the club have still struggled to find any consistency which is why they sit at the foot of the Championship in the first week of 2018. They are not the first team to be threatened with back to back relegations from the top flight into League One, which has been a reality for others. However a club the size of Sunderland and with a fanbase such as theirs, it would be criminal to see them fall below the second tier. Their saving grace is that the relegation zone is so compact that one win could see them jump four places. Can a win in the FA Cup provide a springboard to them climbing the league table?

Middlesbrough v Sunderland Betting Tip

These two sides clashes back at the start of November when Middlesbrough were narrow 1-0 winners at the Riverside. Much has changed since that game, though, as neither Monk or Grayson (who were in charge of the respected teams that day) are still at the clubs. Saturday’s game will see two Welshman in the dugouts trying to plot their team’s passage into the next round of this famous competition. Pulis is just barely in the door and is still attempting to finalise his backroom staff whilst Coleman has this week slammed a number of his senior stars for underperforming.

There’s no doubting that the home team are favourites. Not only will they have the advantage of playing at the Riverside, they are 19 points better off than their opponents in the league which highlights that they are a better all round team than Sunderland. As we all know, however, the FA Cup is a great leveller and league positions will count for little as the teams take the pitch for the lunchtime kick-off tomorrow. The visitors have the joint second worst defensive record in the Championship which illustrates where the majority of their problems lie. For a team in their position, however, they have not found scoring goals terribly difficult and no team in the bottom half of the table have scored more goals on the road than Sunderland. ‘Boro have not been the most consistent at home with four defeats already to their name and the rallying call issued by Coleman ahead of this one may just galvanise his players into a big performance. It’s debatable how serious either of the managers view this game in the context of their seasons, and in that case I’m more inclined to side with Sunderland at a fair price.

Sunderland 6/1 @ Coral