Cardiff vs Middlesbrough prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-02-10 15:00.
After 20 years in the top-two tiers of the English football pyramid, Cardiff City continue to teeter on the brink of the relegation zone with just a three-point cushion. Cardiff’s tough-talking new manager Sabri Lamouchi used expletives to describe their position after their latest defeat extended their wait for a goal to three games and perhaps more damningly, dragged their winless run to 13 competitive games (D6, L7).
The results on the pitch are perhaps symptomatic of deeper problems at Cardiff, with the growing pressure from fans displayed by visible protests outside of the Cardiff City Stadium last week. It comes as little surprise after all they’ve endured over the years, from playing in red to public controversies, but perhaps ending their eight-game winless run at home could throw some cold water on the situation, for the time being at least.
Lamouchi stated that his side will need “five or six wins” to ensure safety, but grabbing the first of those against Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough will be no easy feat. Boro occupied Cardiff’s current position of 21st upon his appointment, but they’re now flying high in third place after a run of ten wins in 14 league games (W10, D1, L3), albeit with a yawning ten-point gap to close on their next opponents, Sheffield United.
Boro have bounced back from their 2-0 defeat in the Tees-Wear derby by scoring five unanswered goals across two league victories. They now have the chance to record three straight league wins without reply for the first time since 2021 under former Cardiff boss Neil Warnock, and curiously the third win in that run also came here against the Bluebirds (2-0)!
Players to watch: Callum O’Dowda has scored Cardiff’s only league goal across 450 minutes of play in 2023 and he also assisted in the 3-2 reverse victory. In contrast, Middlesbrough’s Chuba Akpom leads the way in the Championship with 16 goals – that’s twice as many senior league goals as he had scored for English clubs in his entire career before this term!
Hot stat: Middlesbrough have scored a Championship-high 14 goals between half-time and the 60th minute.