Middlesbrough are looking to snap a mini slump as they travel to Bristol City for a Monday night Championship fixture. Bristol have also looked slightly erratic lately and with both teams particularly shaky at the back, goals can be expected here.
The task for Bristol City as the season slowly draws to a close is to attempt a push for a top half finish. They are currently 13th in the championship, just four points behind 10th placed West Bromwich Albion.
The problem for Bristol City is that their form has been patchy in recent weeks having claimed just two wins from their last eight matches across all competitions. However, Nigel Pearson’s men did claim a 2-1 victory at Stoke City in their previous fixture.
Things are just as erratic at home for Bristol City, who have claimed just two wins from their last five matches at Ashton Gate. Overall, they have also struggled defensively and are without a clean sheet in their last four matches across all competitions.
Middlesbrough have found things difficult in recent weeks having lost their last two Championship matches. First, they were beaten 4-2 by Huddersfield Town before suffering a 2-1 home defeat to Championship leaders Burnley in their previous fixture.
Both defeats have put a major dent to Middlesbrough’s push for automatic promotion as they have now dropped to fourth on the table, nine points behind second placed Sheffield United. While their overall playoff hopes are still alive, a swift return to winning ways is required.
Despite the defeat at Huddersfield Town, Middlesbrough still boast a solid record on their travels with five wins from their last eight away matches. However, like Bristol City they have struggled at the back with just one clean sheet in their last five Championship matches.
How the bookies view it
Middlesbrough are considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies with a win priced at 11/10 by Betfred. A win for Bristol City is valued at 5/2 by William Hill while a draw us set at odds of 13/5 by Unibet.
Head to head
Bristol City have an 18-17 advantage with 11 draws from 46 previous matches against Middlesbrough. The Robins claimed a 2-1 victory in the last meeting at Ashton Gate while the reverse fixture back in November ended in a 1-1 draw.
Players to watch
Nahki Wells is the leading scorer for Bristol City with 11 goals but is currently in the middle of a lengthy drought. The striker is due a goal and is priced at 29/10 by Unibet to rediscover his scoring touch on Monday.
Chuba Akpom netted his 26th Championship goal of the season in that defeat to Burnley and as always will be the one to watch for Middlesbrough. The forward was also on target in the reverse fixture and is priced at 5/4 by Unibet to continue his scoring run.
Anything else catch the eye?
Neither team has looked solid at the back lately and with Middlesbrough seeing over 4.5 goals in their last away fixture, a repeat could be considered at 6/1 with Paddy Power. Over 3.5 goals is priced at 27/10 by Unibet, who are also offering evens for over 2.5 goals.
There have been second half goals for both teams in two of their last three meetings and Monday’s clash could be tipped to follow a similar pattern at 9/4 with bet365.
This England Championship match between Bristol City and Middlesbrough will be played on Apr 10, 2023 and kick off at 17:30. Check below for our tipsters best Bristol City vs Middlesbrough prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
