Middlesbrough vs Plymouth prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2024-02-23 15:00.
It was a brilliant weekend for Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough as they ended a five-game competitive winless run in style by securing a first league double in over two decades away at runaway Championship leaders Leicester City (2-1). Carrick has now called for consistency from his side after they showed what they are “capable” of against the league’s best, and that’s exactly what is needed as Boro remain a distant seven points from the top six.
Many fans had already written off Boro’s play-off hopes before last weekend, but another win here against Plymouth may reignite their promotion fire. Boro haven’t exactly been formidable at home this year though, with their standout 1-0 Carabao Cup semi-final win against Chelsea providing their only competitive home victory so far in 2024 (D2, L3), whilst all four league games therein saw Middlesbrough fail to win despite starting as pre-match favourites.
After making the longest trip in the EFL for their last away game to Sunderland, Plymouth must make an ever so slightly shorter 750-mile round trip to Teesside. They head here on the back of a 3-0 midweek defeat to West Brom, a result which leaves them winless in four Championship outings (D1, L3), but perhaps most crucially still five points above the bottom three ahead of the round.
Playing away from home has been the biggest thing holding Plymouth back this season, as their 28 points picked up at home represent 76% of their total league haul, so it’s probably no surprise that the visitors hold the biggest disparity between home (1.65) and away (0.56) average points per game. Their sole away league win did at least come recently against Swansea, but they have failed to win every away trip against sides beginning this round above them in the table (D4, L9).
Players to watch: After failing to make a significant impact in his first three games following his switch from opponents Plymouth in January, Middlesbrough’s Finn Azaz has recorded a goal contribution in his three most recent matches (G2, A1). Azaz actually assisted three of Morgan Whittaker’s league goals, and three of his last four league strikes served as the match opener.
Hot stat: Plymouth have failed to win five of their six away league games when scoring the opener this season (D3, L2).