Middlesbrough vs Southampton prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-09-22 14:00.
The players and manager seem to be singing from the same hymn sheet as Middlesbrough’s Isaiah Jones coolly stated that “it’s a process,” when asked if their 1-1 draw against Sheffield Wednesday was a missed opportunity. It has left Boro rock-bottom and winless after going behind in every league game, a far cry from the raft of predictions from major publications which had them down as serious promotion challengers.
Big questions are beginning to be asked about Michael Carrick and Middlesbrough’s season so far, and rightly so after the club have posted their worst ever league start to any campaign outside of the top-flight (D2, L5). It is difficult to find positives especially after a run of just one goal scored in over six hours of home league play, but the long-suffering Boro faithful still live in hope that a first Riverside victory since April (D2, L3) isn’t far away.
It was another frustrating evening for Southampton in midweek, as a 1-0 home defeat against Ipswich left one of the pre-season promotion favourites licking their wounds after a run of three straight league defeats. That’s their worst run of losses at this level since December 2008, a season in which the Saints were ominously relegated from the Championship!
Such alarm bells won’t be ringing this time around with ten points already banked, and with two wins from three away league games this term, hopes may be high ahead of their trip to Teesside. The Saints may have vengeance on their mind ahead of a second consecutive trip to the North East, with their most recent away game ending in what was their joint-worst ever Championship defeat, a chastening 5-0 loss that came just a short drive up the A19 in Sunderland.
Key battle: Towering Boro centre-back Darragh Lenihan put his side level with his first goal since 2020/21 in midweek, yet he hasn’t played a game with a clean sheet in any of his last nine appearances. Trying to extend that record will be Southampton forward Ché Adams, the man who has scored his side’s winner in each of their two away victories this season, but has interestingly lost all four of his personal H2Hs against Boro.
Hot stat: Middlesbrough have trailed at half-time in five of their seven league games this season.