Two clubs who are hoping for more positive campaigns in the Championship this season meet at The Riverside on Saturday afternoon as Middlesbrough plays host to Swansea City.
Inconsistency proved to be a real issue for Boro last season, and that was shown in the final few weeks of the season, as they won just one and lost four of their last six matches.
That meant the Teeside club finished the campaign in 10th position, four points outside of the playoff places.
That led to the sacking of Michael Carrick, with Middlesbrough appointing ex-Luton Town head coach Rob Edwards as manager.
Swansea finished just one place and three points behind Middlesbrough in the Championship table thanks to a strong end to the campaign.
The Swans lost just one of their last seven (W5-D1-L1) and three of their final 13 Championship fixtures of the season (W7-D3-L3), with Alan Sheehan being awarded his first full-time managerial role.
How the bookies view it: Boro backed by bookies
Middlesbrough have been installed as favourites here, with BoyleSports pricing the hosts at 20/21 to collect all three points.
The Swans are 5/2 with the same firm to leave Teeside with all three points, whilst the draw is slightly shorter at 23/10.
Head to head: Home a big advantage
Swansea won the most recent meeting 1-0 in Wales back in March, whilst Boro won by the same scoreline at The Riverside in the reverse fixture, ironically on the opening day of the season.
Players to watch: Tommy to find the target?
Tommy Conway was Middlesbrough’s top scorer in the Championship last season, finding the back of the net on 13 occasions. The Scotland international is also generally on penalties, and appeals at 2/1 at BoyleSports to find the target.
Predicted line-ups:
Goalkeeper Seny Dieng, George Edmundson and Finn Azaz missed Boro’s pre-season, and Rob Edwards is expected to be without all three on Saturday.
Swansea have a bit of a defensive crisis, with Ben Cabango, Ricardo Santos and Filip Lissah all expected to miss the clash on Saturday.
Middlesbrough: Brynn, Brittain, Jones, Fry, Borges, Morris, Kante, Silvera, Whittaker, Burgzorg, Conway
Swansea City: Vigouroux, Key, Fulton, Burgess, Tymon, Franco, Galbraith, Widell, Pereira, Inoussa, Cullen
Anything else catch the eye?
As alluded to, this fixture favoured the home side last season, with both winning 1-0 in front of their supporters.
That 1-0 victory for Boro at The Riverside on the opening day of last season was their fifth consecutive home success against The Swans.
What’s more, Middlesbrough finished the campaign winning four of their final six Championship contests at home, only suffering defeat in that run against champions Leeds, and I like the 20/21 on offer for Rob Edwards to make a winning start as Middlesbrough boss.
GambleAware