Middlesbrough – Wolves

Promotion chasing Middlesbrough will welcome Wolverhampton Wanderers at Riverside, in a match counting for the 34th round of the English Championship.

Middlesbrough’s quest for promotion suffered a blow last round, as the team was upset by Blackburn 1-2 and dropped to the third place in the standings. However, the race for direct promotion is still very much alive, with the first 4 teams being separated by just two points. Middlesbrough and Hull also have a game in hand, so the hosts are in a pretty good position despite last round’s defeat.

After failing to win in 7 consecutive matches and losing 3 in a row, Wolves bounced back last round with a solid 2-1 victory over Derby County. They were the second best team in that game, but still claimed three points against a solid side. Wolves don`t have much left to fight for this season, they are right in the middle of the table on the 13th place with no chance to promote or relegate.

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Team news & lineups:

Middlesbrough will be happy to report a clean bill of health ahead of this match. Wolves can also field a lineup close to their best one, though they do miss Graham, Dicko and House.

Middlesbrough: Konstantopoulos – Nsue – Gibson, Kalas, Friend – Forshaw, Leadbitter – Adomah, Downing, Ramirez – Rhodes

Wolverhampton: Ikeme – Iorfa, Batth, Ebanks-Landell, Doherty – McDonald, Coady – Parra, Saville, Henry – Sigurdason

Wolves have been a pretty offensive team this year, as an average of 2,6 goals / game have been scored in their matches according to statistics, but I fancy this to be a low scoring game. Middlesbrough has the best defense in the Championship, allowing less than 0,6 goals per game and with the fight for promotion being as tight as it could be, they will not play all out attacking football anytime soon. They will be extra careful at the back, especially after what happened last round against Blackburn. You can`t afford to take risks when promotion to the Premier League can change your fortunes forever, with the new TV deal kicking in next season. What’s more, Wolves have lost their offensive edge lately, going scoreless in 3 of the last 5 matches.

I expect Middlesbrough to use a cautious approach, keep possession and pass the ball until they find an opening. They are the team that will impose the tempo in this match and I do not see them giving Wolverhampton too many chances to score. As such, my tip is under 2,5 goals to be scored and I recommend medium-high stakes on the bet. Prediction: Middlesbrough – Wolves 1-0.

Pick: under 2,5 goals
Odds: 1.73 @ 1xBet
Stake: 7
Possible profit: 5.11
Event date: 4 March