Plymouth vs Middlesbrough prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-11-03 15:00.
It took just seven minutes for Plymouth Argyle to take the lead against high-flying Ipswich last weekend before they ended up succumbing to a 3-2 defeat, simultaneously ending their two-game run of clean sheets in the process. Boss Steven Schumacher was left “fuming” with the referee's performance, in particular with the decision not to award his side a foul on striker Mustapha Bundu shortly before Ipswich equalised, but Schumacher will need to park that disappointment quickly as he looks to maintain Plymouth’s healthy gap above the bottom three.
A Home Park return can only be a positive in that respect, as three of their four league wins this season have come across the last five home games, each time scoring at least three goals. That has helped them to become just one of two sides in the bottom half of the Championship with a positive goal difference, so Middlesbrough would be wise not to underestimate the Pilgrims.
It is the Boro who have taken on the role of pilgrims this week as they make their second trip to Devon in a matter of days after reaching the Carabao Cup quarter-final at the expense of Exeter on Tuesday evening with a 3-2 comeback win. That was a much-needed lift after their seven-game competitive winning streak was ended by Stoke last week, and having sold out their allocation for both arduous Devon trips, there is no shortage of support for Michael Carrick’s men.
Playing away in league action hasn’t been a problem for Boro of late, they head here on the back of a four-game unbeaten run (W3, D1), their longest since March-April 2022. You’d have to look back 13 years to find the last time Middlesbrough made this particular journey, although the current crop may take inspiration from Boro teams of old as they haven’t lost an away H2H since 1973 (W4, D3).
Players to watch: All four of Plymouth’s league wins this season have featured at least one goal contribution from Ryan Hardie (G6, A3), including two in two of their last three home victories. As for Boro, Morgan Rogers is pushing hard for a place in the starting XI after contributing to goals in three of his side’s last four competitive wins (G2, A1), despite starting just one of those games.
Hot stat: Only five Championship sides have kept fewer clean sheets than Middlesbrough’s three in 14 games.