Middlesbrough vs Stoke prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-10-27 14:00.
Things are looking up for Michael Carrick and his Middlesbrough side, who have put together a simply incredible run of seven straight competitive victories that’s lifted them from the relegation zone to the periphery of the top-six. A little bit of luck may be needed going forward, with influential midfielder Hayden Hackney’s suspension serving to compound their growing injury list as Carrick joked that they’re “like the walking wounded”.
A test of squad depth will be difficult for the Teessiders, yet these issues are not alien to any side given the relentless intensity of the Championship. Despite those problems, Middlesbrough should remain confident after winning 13 of their last 19 home league games (D3, L3), while they’re unbeaten in home league H2H action against Stoke City since 1997 (W5, D2).
The coach in charge of trying to reverse that record is current Potters boss Alex Neil, the man who denied Middlesbrough promotion with a 2-0 win in the play-off final as Norwich manager back in 2014/15. Things haven’t been quite so rosy for his current club, but Stoke can at least enter this clash with momentum in their favour, as they’ve now recorded their first consecutive league wins since March following a run of seven winless competitive games from the prior eight (W1, D1, L6).
Zooming in on Stoke’s away form paints a similarly bleak picture as they’ve come up trumps just once across their last seven road trips (W1, D1, L5), whilst conceding exactly twice in each of the last four games during that run. Fixing that sloppy defence is clearly a priority, as should be their slow starts on the road, as Stoke are the only Championship side to concede first in all of their away games this season.
Players to watch: Sam Greenwood is quickly becoming the most popular Mackem on Teesside after the Sunderland-born attacker scored his first two goals for Boro across his last three games. Trying to outdo him will be Stoke’s André Vidigal, who has managed five competitive goals and three decisive winners so far this season despite his considerable injury absences.
Hot stat: Stoke boss Alex Neil has won just twice across ten personal league H2Hs against Middlesbrough (W2, D4, L4).