Middlesbrough vs West Brom prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-12-22 15:00.
It has been a fantastic week for Middlesbrough, who after beating Swansea 2-1 away from home last weekend in the Championship, followed it up by winning 3-0 at Port Vale to make their first League Cup semi-final since winning their only major silverware in the competition back in 2003/04. The associated anticipation that so often accompanies a semi final must take a back seat for now though, as they return to league action looking to close the gap to the top-six.
Whilst Boro enter this round in the bottom-half, a mere six-point gap separates them from the current top-six, but they must end some rather uninspiring recent H2H form against West Bromwich Albion here (D1, L2). The fans may expect a resurgent showing after losing their last two home league games, and they are perhaps right to feel that way as Boro have picked up a Championship-high 69 points in 2023.
That may not be the case after this as WBA sit right behind Boro in the annual table on 67 points, although they only need to pick up a point here to guarantee a Christmas Day spent in the top-six. A run of just one win across the Baggies’ last four league games may serve to temper expectations (W1, D1, L2), although boss Carlos Corberán praised their effort in their 1-1 draw against Stoke.
Finding some consistency is next on the agenda for WBA, who have posted alternating wins without reply with defeats across their last seven away league games, despite scoring each time (W4, L3). With a 2-0 win in their latest trip to face Rotherham, the Baggies will be looking to tighten it up by posting what would be a first back-to-back away league wins since April.
Players to watch: Identifying Boro’s key threats is no easy task during their current injury crisis, but Matt Crooks scored his fifth goal of the season in midweek, none of which were match openers. Trying to outdo him will be WBA’s Brandon Thomas-Asante, who is averaging one goal contribution every other game across his last ten league appearances (G4, A1).
Hot stat: WBA boss Carlos Corberán has never drawn a game in his six personal H2Hs against Boro (W4, L2).