Middlesbrough host Brighton & Hove Albion in an FA Cup third round fixture with both teams looking to maintain their recent good form. Boro certainly have the quality to trouble Brighton and can do enough to at least take the game into penalties on Saturday.
Middlesbrough are still enjoying their resurgence under manager Michael Carrick and have slowly played themselves into playoff contention in the Championship. They have suffered just one defeat in their last 10 matches across all competitions, claiming eight wins in that run.
Boro head into Saturday’s clash off the back of a 3-1 victory at Birmingham City last time out in the Championship. All the goals came in the second half with Matt Crooks netting a brace while Chuba Akpom added the third five minutes from time.
Goals have come easily for Middlesbrough, who earned a 4-1 victory over Wigan Athletic in their previous home fixture. However, the trade-off is a shaky defence that has failed to keep a clean sheet in the last five matches.
Like their hosts, Brighton are also enjoying a fine campaign and are challenging around the European places in the Premier League. They will consider a deep cup run part of their success this season and will look to reach the latter stages of the competition.
Brighton are coming off an impressive 4-1 victory at Everton in a midweek Premier League fixture. Kaoru Mitoma opened the scoring while Evan Ferguson, Solly March and Pascal Gross were also on target.
While Brighton have generally impressed this season, they have looked slightly erratic in recent weeks, claiming just two wins in their last six matches across all competitions. They have been beaten by Arsenal and Aston Villa in that run and were recently knocked out of the League Cup by League One side Charlton Athletic.
How the bookies view it
Brighton are considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies and are priced at 9/13 by SBK to claim the win. A victory for Middlesbrough is valued at 9/2 by BoyleSports while a draw is set at odds of 3/1 by bet365.
Head to head
Middlesbrough have an 8-5 edge with four draws from 17 previous matches against Brighton. The most recent meeting was an FA Cup clash in 2018 which ended 1-0 in favour of the Seagulls.
Players to watch
Chuba Akpom has been the standout player for Middlesbrough this season and has scored 13 Championship goals so far. The attacker also has five goals in his last two home matches and could be backed to maintain his scoring run at 10/3 with bet365.
Brighton will look to Kaoru Mitoma to provide the spark in attack with the forward impressing since returning from the World Cup. He has scored in his last two matches and is priced at 7/2 by bet365 to find the net on Saturday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Middlesbrough and Brighton both saw over 3.5 goals in their previous fixtures and could be set for a repeat at 9/4 with bet365. Over 2.5 goals can be considered at 5/6 with Betfred while both teams could also be backed to score at 10/11 with bet365.
Middlesbrough have impressed lately, particularly at home and with Brighton slightly erratic lately, a double chance for the hosts could be worth considering at 27/20 with 10bet.
This FA Cup match between Middlesbrough and Brighton & Hove Albion will be played on Jan 7, 2023 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Middlesbrough vs Brighton & Hove Albion prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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