Swansea vs Middlesbrough prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-12-15 15:00.
Swansea City’s caretaker boss Alan Sheehan was left “incredibly proud” of the resilience shown by his side as they carved out a 1-1 draw at Stoke in midweek, thus extending their unbeaten run to three games (W1, D2) and putting them just two points behind visitors Middlesbrough. No matter who takes charge on Saturday, they’ll hope that Swansea can continue their steady upward trajectory as they sit just five points from the relegation zone.
Such is the competitive nature of the division, the Swans are also just eight points from the play-off places, but the home faithful might not be thinking of a top-six push just yet given they’ve not seen their side win on home turf in five matches (D3, L2). But that could well change against a Boro side who they’ve avoided defeat against in seven of the last eight home H2Hs (W5, D2, L1).
Even with greater stability in terms of their manager, Michael Carrick’s men have struggled for consistency and fell to a third straight defeat at home to Hull in midweek. That trio of losses has hugely dented Boro’s stuttering play-off push, one which has been hampered in no small part by an ongoing injury crisis at the club.
Despite their poor form, Boro can’t be accused of lacking effort on their travels. They come to South Wales on the back of consecutive away defeats but have scored at least twice in each of their last eight competitive away games (W5, D1, L2), so they should have enough quality going forward to trouble this Swansea outfit. Don’t let Boro’s favourite status fool you though, as they’ve won just one away league game with that tag all season (W1, D2, L1).
Players to watch: Swansea defender Harry Darling scored a fourth consecutive headed goal to claim his side a point in midweek, yet none of his last seven scoring appearances saw him net first. His chief concern will be stopping the likes of Middlesbrough’s Emmanuel Latte Lath, who has frustratingly scored the opener in two of his side’s last three league defeats.
Hot stat: Only three sides have kept fewer home league clean sheets than Swansea’s two ahead of the round (20%).