After being held by Sunderland last time out, Burnley will be seeking a swift return to winning ways as they travel to in-form Middlesbrough for a Friday night Championship fixture. Both teams are known for their free flowing attacking style and could be set to produce goals here.
Middlesbrough are coming off a 4-2 defeat to Huddersfield Town in their previous Championship fixture. They struck first through Marcus Forss with halftime approaching but went on to concede four in a 20-minute period after the restart before Chuba Akpom pulled one back midway through the second half.
That result was a small setback in Middlesbrough’s quest for automatic promotion as they are now six points behind second placed Sheffield United. However, that was only their second defeat in 11 matches across all competitions and manager Michael Carrick will be keen to make a swift return to winning ways.
Middlesbrough will head into Friday’s clash with confidence as they are unbeaten in their last 10 matches at the Riverside Stadium. There have been some truly one-sided results in that run, including a 5-0 victory over Reading and a 4-0 triumph over Preston North End in their previous home fixture.
Burnley dropped points last time out in the Championship as they were held to a 0-0 home draw by Sunderland. Despite seeing much of the possession, they lacked the cutting edge in attack and were wasteful in front of goal.
While it was a disappointing performance, the result had little effect on their Championship position as they still hold an 11-point lead at the top. Vincent Kompany’s men have claimed just two wins in their last five matches across all competitions.
The good news for Burnley is that they travel to Middlesbrough unbeaten in their last eight Championship away matches. They have also claimed a few one-sided results in that run, including a 3-1 victory over Hull City and a 3-0 win at Norwich City.
How the bookies view it
The bookies appear to be split on this one with a win for Middlesbrough priced at 13/8 by bet365 while a Burnley victory is valued at 7/4 by Unibet. A draw is set at odds of 23/10 by 10bet.
Head to head
Middlesbrough and Burnley have claimed 20 wins each and 12 draws from 52 previous meetings. The Clarets ran out 3-1 winners in the reverse fixture back in December.
Players to watch
Despite the poor showing from Middlesbrough last time out, Chuba Akpom still managed to get on the score sheet. The forward now has 25 Championship goals so far and could be worth keeping an eye on at 7/4 with Paddy Power.
Nathan Tella had a quiet outing against Sunderland but remains one of the outstanding players for Burnley this season. The attacker has found the net five times in the last three matches and is priced at 14/5 with Unibet to get on the score sheet on Friday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Middlesbrough and Burnley have plenty of attacking quality and produced over 3.5 goals in the reverse fixture. A similar outcome is valued at 11/4 with Betfred, who is also offering odds of 11/10 for over 2.5 goals.
Both teams where on target after the break in the reverse fixture and a repeat is valued at 12/5 with bet365. The second half can also be tipped to produce the most goals at 11/10 with Paddy Power.
This England Championship match between Middlesbrough and Burnley will be played on Apr 7, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Middlesbrough vs Burnley prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
