Middlesbrough vs Sunderland Prediction: A draw seems to be on the cards

Middlesbrough will continue their playoff bid when they welcome Sunderland to the Riverside Stadium on Monday. The hosts are unbeaten in their last six home games in the league, while the visitors are unbeaten in their last five games. Below, I have the team news, possible starting 11, some interesting facts, expert betting tips, and odds.

Middlesbrough

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Michael Carrick’s Middlesbrough hope to get back their form in this clash after suffering another setback in their last game against Preston North End. They lost 2-1 in the game, despite having a larger part of the possession and attempts. Boro have now secured one win against West Brom in their last five games. However, they are unbeaten in their last six games at home.

Middlesbrough sit 7th on the table with 44 points in 29 games, scoring 47 goals and conceding 36. They need to win this game in their fight for promotion playoffs. However, they are badly affected with injuries. Both Solomon Brynn (shoulder) and Seny Dieng (Achilles) are out in the goalkeeping department, and Tom Glover is expected to start the game. The club has signed Mark Travers on loan from Bournemouth to provide more options in goal. Emmanuel Latte Lath (muscle), Riley McGree (muscle), Anfernee Dijksteel (muscle), Jonathan Howson (calf), Tommy Conway (hamstring), Darragh Lenihan (ankle), Tom Smith (Achilles) and Alex Bangura (Achilles) are all ruled out due to injuries.

Sunderland

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Sunderland were held to a 2-2 draw in their last game against Plymouth. They remain unbeaten in their last five games in the Championship with three wins and two draws. The Black Cats sit 4th on the table with 55 points in 29 games, scoring 42 goals and conceding 24. They are six points off automatic promotion spot and will need to improve their performance to close the gap and a win in this game will close the gap to three points. However, Aji Alese (leg), Alan Browne (leg), Tom Watson (knee), Niall Huggins (knee), and Romaine Mundle (hamstring) are all ruled out of this game.

Possible Starting 11

Middlesbrough — Tom Glover, Luke Ayling, Dael Fry, Rav van den Berg, Ryan Giles, Aidan Morris, Hayden Hackney, Ben Doak, Finn Azaz, Morgan Whittaker, Marcus Forss.

Sunderland — Anthony Patterson, Trai Hume, Chris Mepham, Luke O'Nien, Dennis Cirkin, Chris Rigg, Jobe Bellingham, Dan Neil, Enzo Le Fée, Wilson Isidor, Eliezer Mayenda.

Interesting Facts

• Middlesbrough are unbeaten in their last six Championship home games;
• Middlesbrough have drawn 3 of their last 4 Championship home games;
• Eight of the last ten games between the two sides have seen under 2.5 goals;
• Sunderland have drawn 3 of their previous 4 matches;
• Middlesbrough are unbeaten in 13 of their last 15 games against Sunderland;
• Sunderland are unbeaten in their last five games.

Expert Betting Tips

Both teams have promotions in their sight, and this will make this game very tricky to predict, and we might end up seeing a share of points. Regardless, the head-to-head record between the two sides shows that they hardly involve themselves in a high-scoring game, and I think this game will follow suit.

Our prediction for the match is to see less than three goals for odds of 1.85 at Betway.

Our second prediction is for both teams to score (BTTS) for odds of 1.65 at Bet365.

Our third prediction is a draw for odds of 3.50 at 1xbet.