Middlesbrough v Sunderland Betting Preview – Championship 5th November 12.15pm
Sunderland’s season took another miserable turn in midweek as they parted company with boss Simon Grayson. The Black Cats are stuck in the Championship relegation zone and have won just one of their opening fifteen games of the season. They are in a mess and face a tricky trip to Middlesbrough on the weekend. Boro have a bit of momentum behind them after having claimed back to back league wins.
Middlesbrough v Sunderland Betting Tips
Boro go into this home fixture after back to back away wins in the last week and they are up in the top eight now. However, their recent wins over Reading and Hull are their only two victories in their last seven league outings though in a W2 D3 L2 record of current form. They aren’t in great winning touch at the Riverside because they have failed to win any of their last three there, collecting only the one point from a draw against Brentford. Overall this season Boro are W3 D2 L1 at home in the Championship but it’s just one win in their last five there. Just 29% of Middlesbrough’s home games this season have seen more than two goals and under 2.5 goals at bet365 returns a price of 3/4. Of their three home wins, two of them have been by a one goal margin and both home defeats have been by a one goal margin only. Middlesbrough to win by a 1 goal margin at bet365 is a solid 5/2 punt.
Top scorer for Boro this season is Britt Assombalonga who is the 13/5 first goalscorer favourite at bet365. Of his eight league goals this season for Boro, only three of them have been on home soil. In the bet365 correct score market, a Middlesbrough 1-0 is the shortest priced option at 5/1 and that looks pretty decent value. There is the option of backing the home side to win to nil as well which is an 8/5 jolly. Boro have the joint second-best defensive record in the Championship this season and against one of the bottom sides in the league, that should count. In the Premier League meetings last season, Boro won both meetings against Sunderland and both wins were by a one goal margin. Boro are on a three match winning streak against Sunderland in all competitions and they have lost just one of their last six games against the Black Cats (W3 D2 L1).
The relegation zone in the Championship is where Sunderland are housed right now and that is because they can’t win games. They have actually been scoring pretty well, especially when compared to those teams around them at the bottom, and Lewis Grabban is the top scorer for them with eight (a 13/5 anytime goalscorer). But their defence has really hurt them and they have the second worst defensive record in the second tier this season having conceded 30 goals in their fifteen league matches this season. Sunderland have posted a W1 D7 L7 record for the season and most of that was down to Simon Grayson who got the sack recently. The Mackems haven’t won since their second league fixture of the season back on August 13th, away at Norwich. They have gone D4 L2 in their last six. On a positive note, they have done better away from home than at the Stadium of Light and they have drawn three of their last four away games (L1). Sunderland have scored in each of their last eight league games but they are yet to celebrate a clean sheet this season and the Wearside club have conceded at least two goals in six of their last seven league matches.
Middlesbrough v Sunderland Betting Odds
Middlesbrough 4/6, Draw 13/5, Sunderland 17/4
Middlesbrough v Sunderland Predictions
Middlesbrough to win: Boro are favourites here and rightly so. The Black Cats are in such a mess that Boro can edge their way to three points here in order to continue their winning streak in the Championship and put a bit of pressure on the top six.
