Middlesbrough v Derby
Saturday October 27, 12:30
Live on Sky Sports
Saturday October 27, 12:30
Live on Sky Sports
Middlesbrough aiming for top spot
Middlesbrough relinquished their position as Championship table-toppers on Tuesday after the Teessiders were held at home by newly-promoted Rotherham. The Millers had previously failed to pick up a point on their travels but managed to soak up Boro's pressure and frustrate Tony Pulis' troops at the Riverside.
Martin Braithwaite fluffed his line when one-on-one for the hosts in the first-half and Britt Assombalonga failed to connect from five yards in Middlesbrough's best efforts. Overall, the home side had 65% possession at the Riverside and 20 shots to their opponents' eight, but hit the target just five times.
Pulis threw on Jordan Hugill and Rudy Gestede as they chased a late goal, but Boro failed to conjure up any outstanding openings, and were far too reliant upon set-pieces. The Boro boss bemoaned his team's lack of a clinical touch and suggested he may shake things up for Saturday's early kick-off.
Derby deliver eye-catching display
Derby delivered a demonstration of their Championship promotion credentials as they produced an outstanding display to thrash high-flying West Brom 4-1 at The Hawthorns. The Rams scored twice in each half - through Jack Marriott, Tom Lawrence, Harry Wilsonand Scott Malone - and always appeared in complete control.
Frank Lampard's charges were given a helping hand by Jay Rodriguez's loose backpass for the opener, and that goal set the slick visitors on their way. County completely outclassed their hosts and now moved to within two points of the summit following their most eye-catching performance of the campaign.
Lampard suggested that improvements were still necessary to consolidate Derby's position amongst the division's front-runners. Lawrence and Malone are expected to keep their places after recalls but Craig Bryson, George Evans, Joe Ledley and Marcus Olsson are out, whilst there was no place in the 18 for Alex Pearce, Ikechi Anya, Jacob Butterfield or George Thorne.
Difficult to split two strong sides
Tony Pulis has been in charge of Middlesbrough 2.20 since Boxing Day 2017 and has presided over 19 regular season matches at the Riverside Stadium. Boro's record in that sample is an impressive W12-D3-L4, although it's just W5-D3-L4 when viewing matches against fellow top-half teams.
The Teessiders come into this contest having picked up only three triumphs in nine since the end of August (W3-D4-L2) with the hosts lack of a finishing touch often proving their downfall. Nevertheless, Pulis' posse are built upon a strong defensive record that's given up just 0.45 Expected Goals from open play per-game.
Derby 3.70 have generally been poor travellers this term. The Rams only sealed victories in dying embers of encounters with strugglers Reading and Hull, and collected a solitary point from trips to Rotherham, Bolton and QPR before putting West Brom to the sword on Wednesday night.
Like their hosts, County are also posting impressive defensive data this term. The visitors are allowing their opposition just 0.56 Expected Goals from open play per-game. And with the odds suggesting these two teams are rated very closely, the wisest selection might be to support the draw at 3.25.
Contrasting goal trends
Middlesbrough matches are renowned for being tight affairs with the Teessiders facing the fewest shots on-target, and conceding just five goals across their last 19-and-a-half hours of Championship action since their opening day draw at Millwall. Unsurprisingly, 10 of their last 11 games have seen Under 2.5 Goals 1.63.
Derby's dates haven't proven quite so profitable for Under 2.5 Goals hunters with half of their 14 fixtures featuring three or more goals, including four of their seven away days. With the Rams arriving hot on the heels of an electric attacking display, it may pay to overlook any goals-based bets for a watching brief.
RECOMMENDED BETS
Back the draw @ 3.25 in Middlesbrough v Derby
Comments
Post a Comment