Middlesbrough are aiming to put some daylight between themselves and the relegation zone as they host Rotherham United in the Championship on Saturday. Boro have done some good work at the Riverside Stadium lately and should have the edge over Rotherham, who often struggle on their travels.
Middlesbrough are coming off a 3-2 home defeat to Cardiff City in their previous Championship fixture. They attempted a comeback after going three goals down in the first half but could only manage two goals from Duncan Watmore and Rodrigo Muniz.
That result will be particularly disappointing for manager Chris Wilder as it ended a run of three straight home matches without defeat for Middlesbrough. They continue to hover around the relegation zone, sitting level on points with Swansea City in 22nd position.
While defeat to Cardiff City was disappointing, Middlesbrough will be keen to quickly move on from it and focus on some of their more positive home results lately. Among their recent results at the Riverside Stadium are victories over Swansea City and high-flying Sunderland while they also held Championship leaders Sheffield United to a 2-2 draw.
Rotherham United have fared a bit better than Middlesbrough this season with just one defeat in their opening nine matches. However, they have only been victorious three times and sit just inside the top half of the table.
One of those victories for Rotherham United came in their midweek fixture which they won 3-0 over Blackpool. Chiedozie Ogbene opened the scoring in the first half while Wes Harding and George Martin added further goals after the break.
The problem for Rotherham United is that their good performances have come at home as they are still winless on the road this season. Paul Warne’s men suffered a 3-0 defeat at Sunderland in their previous away fixture.
How the bookies view it
Middlesbrough are considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies with a home win priced at 4/6 by Coral. A victory for Rotherham United is valued at 9/2 with William Hill while a draw is set at odds of 14/5 with Unibet.
Head to head
Middlesbrough have a 7-2 advantage with one draw from 10 previous matches with Rotherham United. Boro have won the last two meetings and triumphed 1-0 in the most recent fixture.
Players to watch
Rodrigo Muniz is slowly finding his scoring touch in recent weeks and has found the net in two of his last three matches. The Brazilian forward will be the one to watch on Saturday and is priced at 7/4 with bet365.
Chiedozie Ogbene will be the one to watch for Rotherham United, following his goal last time out against Blackpool. The attacker now has four Championship goals this season and is priced at 10/3 by bet365 to score anytime on Saturday.
Anything else catch the eye?
There is quality in attack for Middlesbrough and Rotherham and both teams could be backed to score at 39/40 with SBK. Over 2.5 goals is valued at evens and over 3.5 goals is valued at 13/5 with Unibet.
Given the small odds for a straight Middlesbrough victory, a win and over 2.5 goals could be considered for more value at 17/10 with Coral.
This England Championship match between Middlesbrough and Rotherham United will be played on Sep 17, 2022 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Middlesbrough vs Rotherham United prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
