Middlesbrough begin their Carabao Cup campaign with a first-round clash with League One side Barnsley. Boro are yet to win in the Championship this season but will fancy their chances at home against their third-tier opponents.
Middlesbrough head into Wednesday's clash off the back of a 3-2 defeat to QPR in the Championship last Saturday. They were undone by an abysmal first half performance, going three goals down before fighting back through Matt Crooks and Marcus Forss.
The result means Middlesbrough are still seeking their first win this season after beginning their campaign with a 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion.
While manager Chris Wilder will be disappointed with the result at QPR, he will take the positives from the second half performance. Scoring in their two matches so far also means goals are not a problem for Middlesbrough, although they will need to tighten up at the back having conceded four times already this season.
While Middlesbrough are still seeking their first win of the season, Barnsley have made a slightly better start down in League One. They travel to the Riverside Stadium off the back of a 1-0 victory over Cheltenham Town last Saturday.
It was the first win of the season for Barnsley, who began their campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Plymouth Argyle. Manager Michael Duff will look to take some confidence from the performance ahead of a difficult week which also sees them travel to Derby County on Saturday.
Barnsley have a poor record on their recent travels. They have won just once in their last nine matches across all competitions, with that victory coming against Non-League side Workshop Town in a preseason friendly.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have Middlesbrough as overwhelming favourites with a home win priced at 4/9 by SBK. A victory for Barnsley is valued at 7/1 by William Hill while a draw is set at odds of 4/1 with Paddy Power.
Recent head to head
Barnsley claimed a 3-2 victory in a Championship clash with Middlesbrough back in February. However, Boro have won four of the last five meetings at the Riverside Stadium, including a 2-0 victory in the corresponding fixture last season.
Players to watch
Summer signing Marcus Forss is already off the mark for Middlesbrough and could be worth keeping an eye on. The striker was on target last time out against QPR and is priced at 13/10 by BetVictor to find the net on Wednesday.
Although he is yet to find the net this season, James Norwood could be the one to watch for Barnsley. The striker should continue to lead the line for the visitors and is priced at 22/5 by Unibet to get on the score sheet on Wednesday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Neither team has been convincing at the back this season and having produced over 3.5 goals in their last meeting, a similar outcome could be on the cards at 15/8 with Paddy Power. Over 2.5 goals could also be considered at 7/10 with bet365 while both teams could be backed to score at 10/11 with Unibet.
Given the minimal odds for a straight Middlesbrough victory, a win and over 2.5 goals could be considered at 11/10 with bet365.
This EFL Cup match between Middlesbrough and Barnsley will be played on Aug 10, 2022 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Middlesbrough vs Barnsley prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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