After churning out winning selections throughout the week, SlipsTips is back with two bets from the English Championship on Saturday, with Swansea's meeting with Middlesbrough under the microscope.
Swansea vs Middlesbrough (Saturday, 15:00)
Middlesbrough will be hoping to keep their automatic promotion hopes alive on Saturday afternoon when they lock horns with Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium.
Sitting third in the table and seven points behind second-placed Sheffield United, Michael Carrick has transformed Middlesbrough into one of the English Championship's most entertaining sides, and that was evident in their 5-0 rout of Reading last weekend.
As for Swansea, they are languishing down in 17th place and are pretty much in no man's land having lost three of their last four league games, the most recent was a 1-0 loss at Luton.
Considering the contrasting form of these sides, I suspect Middlesbrough will prove to be a particularly popular selection in punters’ accas this weekend, however I’m instead going to combine Middlesbrough to score and 20+ Swansea Booking Points at 10/11 (SkyBet).
As already alluded to, Middlesbrough have been reinvigorated under Michael Carrick, with the rookie boss overseeing 14 wins form 19 league games since taking the reins at the Riverside, winning six of the last seven.
What’s more, Boro have only failed to make the net bulge twice during that sequence, which doesn’t bode well for a Swansea side that are without a clean sheet in each of their 12 outings in 2023.
As such, I’m more than happy to back Middlesbrough to grab at least one goal here, but to bring about the aforementioned 10/11 (Sky Bet) play, I’ll also go with referee Peter Bankes to brandish Swansea a minimum of 20 Booking Points.
The Swans are currently the most ill-disciplined side in the English Championship, averaging 2.40 yellow cards per-game, with Russel Martin’s men racking up 20+ Booking Points across 74% of their league games thus far, and they may have to stick the boot in here if they are to keep free-scoring Boro at bay.
Therefore, with all that in mind, as well as the fact that this combination has clicked in 12 of Middlesbrough's 19 league games under Carrick’s guidance, siding with the same selection on the south coast of Wales on Saturday stands out at 10/11 (SkyBet).
With all things considered, the 6/5 available with Spreadex for Middlesbrough to score two or more goals here also looks like an attractive betting proposition.
The visitors have hit a minimum of two strikes in six of their last seven league games and I see no reason to oppose a repeat here when they come up against a Swansea side that have had their fair share of off-field and on-field problems this season.
Recommended Bets
- Middlesbrough 1+ Goal & Swansea 20+ Booking Points – Bet Builder (10/11, SkyBet)
- Over 1.5 Middlesbrough Goals – 6/5 (Spreadex)
Freelance Sports Writer and Betting Analyst with over five years experience. I’ve written football and darts betting content for some of the biggest betting websites and newspapers in the UK. With a strong passion for the fascinating world of Scottish football, I also regularly feature in Nutmeg, the much-loved Scottish football magazine. Falkirk season ticket holder and avid watcher of football and darts, whether it be UK-based or further afield. Feel free to follow me on X @SlipsTips
