Middlesbrough – Cardiff PREDICTION & TIPS
Middlesbrough and Cardiff City play at Riverside Stadium in a Championship 13th round duel. At this stage, the history of direct confrontations is favorable to the home team, which has 3 wins in the last 3 games. In fact, the last time they met at this stadium was 23-02-2016, in a Championship match that ended with Middlesbrough’s 3-1 win. The goals of the match were scored by M. Connolly (25 ‘Autogolo), G. Ramírez (63’) and D. Nugent (83 ‘) for Middlesbrough and Fábio (20’) for Cardiff City. In this match the home factor may play an important role, as Middlesbrough presents significant differences in the results achieved at home and as a visitor.
The home team is currently in 11th place with 17 points, after 4 wins, 5 draws and 3 losses. In the penultimate match, they drew at home to Brentford by (2-2). In the last match, he tied for Barnsley (2-2). This is a stronger team when you play in your stadium, because in the last 30 games you have 3 wins, 5 draws and 7 losses as a visitor; against 6 wins, 4 draws and 5 losses in his stadium. For the championship, Middlesbrough won 11 points out of 18 after 3 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss in their last 6 games at their home stadium. His attack has scored regularly as he has scored goals in 7 of the last 10 games in this competition. This is a team that scores a few times first: just opened the scoring in 3 of their last 12 games by the Championship, of these 3 reached the break in advantage in all and won in the late 90 ‘in all. In 12 games in this competition, he suffered the first goal 7 times and only got 1 turn on the scoreboard. In the last 8 home games in all competitions there are 2 highlights: he scored 4 of his 11 goals between the minutes (16’-30 ‘) and 4 of his 11 between (46′-60′).
The Middlesbrough team comes to this game with a 2-2 draw against Barnsley, adding up the fourth game without a win in this competition: the team goals were scored by Assombalonga and Braitwaite. In this game, against their fans, coach Garry Monk is expected to maintain the team in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with the possession of the ball and successive attacks on the wings. It is important to note that Britt Assombalonga is Middlesbrough’s top scorer with 6 goals scored. For this game the coach can not rely on Rudy Gestede, injured.
After 7 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses, the visiting team is in 2nd place, having won 24 points. In the last match, they lost with Birmingham City away by (1-0), after their previous match drew at home in a game against Derby County by (0-0). This is a team that maintains the income when it plays outside of its stadium, because in the last 30 games it registers 8 wins, 3 draws and 4 losses as a visitor; against 8 wins, 5 draws and 2 losses in his stadium. In the league, Cardiff City had 10 points in 18 chances, after 3 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses in their last 6 away games. The team conceded goals in 8 of the last 10 games, so it has not shown great defensive solidity, but its attack has marked regularly, since it managed to materialize in 7 of the last 10 games in this competition. In 12 games in this competition, he suffered the first goal 5 times and only got 1 turn on the scoreboard. In the last 7 away games for all competitions there are 2 periods that stand out: scored 3 of his 6 goals between minutes (76’-90 ‘); suffered 3 of his 7 goals in minutes (61’-75 ‘).
Cardiff City go into this round with a 1-0 home defeat at Birmingham, adding the second consecutive game without proving the taste of victory. In the away match, in a very complicated field, coach Neil Warnock should go ahead with a cautious strategy, with the lines drawn, exploiting only the counterattack.
Middlesbrough – Cardiff FREE TIPS
Middlesbrough – Win @ 2.60
Both teams to score / YES @ 1.75
Over 2.5 Goals @ 1.70
