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Middlesbrough will host Stoke City at Riverside on Tuesday in another round of EFL Championship football.
The home side are flying under manager Michael Carrick and are now pushing for the playoffs mere months after battling for survival. They picked up a 3-1 comeback win over Swansea City in their last league outing, with Aaron Ramsey, Cameron Archer and the league's top scorer Chuba Akpom all getting on the scoresheet in the second half.
Middlesbrough sit third in the table with 63 points from 36 games. They will be looking to continue their good run of form this week.
Stoke have had mixed results this season but look to have found their feet in recent weeks and are targeting a top-half finish at the end of the season. They beat Blackburn Rovers in their game on Saturday and were already three goals up before their opponents scored two late consolation goals.
The visitors sit 14th in the league table with 46 points from 36 games and will be hopeful of adding to that tally on Tuesday.
Middlesbrough vs Stoke City Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Historically, there have been 103 meetings between Middlesbrough and Stoke. The hosts have won 43 of those games while the visitors have won 36 times. There have been 24 draws between the two teams.
- The hosts are undefeated in their last four games in this fixture and have lost just one of their last nine.
- The visitors are without a clean sheet in their last six games across all competitions.
- The Boro have lost just two home league games this season. Only league leaders Burnley (0) have a better record.
- The Potters have scored 47 goals in the Championship this season, the highest of any team in the bottom half of the league standings.
- Middlesbrough are the second-highest-scoring side in the English second-tier this season with a goal tally of 64.
Middlesbrough vs Stoke City Prediction
Middlesbrough are on a run of back-to-back victories and have now won seven of their last eight games. They have won their last seven home league games and will fancy their chances ahead of Tuesday's clash.
Stoke have also won their last two games and have now won three of their last four games. The sheer gulf in class and quality between the two teams should, however, see the hosts win this encounter.
Prediction: Middlesbrough 2-1 Stoke City
Middlesbrough vs Stoke City Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Middlesbrough
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Over 2.5 goals (Six of the hosts' last seven matches have produced more than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: NO (Both sides have found the back of the net in four of the Boro's last six matches)
