Middlesbrough vs Wigan prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2022-12-25 15:00.
After a positive start to his life as Middlesbrough boss (W4, D1, L1), Michael Carrick’s men were rocked by a 3-1 defeat against league leaders Burnley last time out. In the aftermath of defeat, Carrick stated that they need to be “calm about it”, which is probably a fair assessment with only a four-point gap to bridge to the top six, suggesting a promotion push could yet be on the cards.
The arrival of Wigan Athletic could be a boost in that regard as Boro have lost just twice against the Latics across 20 historical meetings (W9, D9, L2), while a Riverside return is also likely to be a positive. Middlesbrough have only suffered defeat here twice all season in the league, while the Teessiders have won eight of their last nine Boxing Day fixtures on home turf, with the only exception being a 1-0 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday back in 2018.
Avoiding a return to the third tier is Wigan’s primary aim for the season, but it has been a tough start to life in management for Carrick’s former playing adversary Kolo Touré (D1, L1). Former Arsenal centre-back Touré must impart some of his defensive tenacity on his players if they are to notch a clean sheet at the 11th attempt, albeit in just his third game in charge.
That worrying trend points to a tough afternoon for Wigan, with a winless record across their last five Boxing Day league games (D3, L2) and a league low two-point haul across the last five away games only serving to deepen the misery. Another negative streak Wigan must contend with is a 12-game winless run against Boro (D6, L6), although despite losing the reverse meeting 4-1, Wigan have never lost a H2H league double in the same season!
Players to watch: Duncan Watmore is yet to play a full 90 minutes for Middlesbrough this season but he makes his time count, scoring within three minutes of his introduction at Burnley, while he had a hand in two goals in the last H2H. Wigan’s top scorer Will Keane (G8), who played alongside Carrick in his only Premier League appearance for Manchester United back in 2016, scored the first goal of the Touré reign.
Hot stat: Middlesbrough are unbeaten in six of their last seven league games against promoted opposition (W5, D1, L1).