When will Boro finally find their way into the season?

The second-tier Championship is currently extremely tight and exciting. There are only six points between the leaders and twelfth place after eight matchdays. So every win can have a trend-setting effect at this stage of the season. Against this backdrop, we can also look forward to Monday night’s exciting match, in which the home side will be under pressure to win.

With only six points so far, Middlesbrough are definitely one of the negative surprises of the season so far. However, at least at home the former first division team is still unbeaten, which might also be one of the main reasons why lower odds on a home win are offered between Middlesbrough and Sunderland. In terms of the standings, the Black Cats do not need to hide away.

Promoted Sunderland have almost twice as many points on their account and could even climb up to fourth place in the event of a three-pointer on Monday evening. The task will be difficult, however, because the north-easterners have not only lost four of the last five meetings against “Boro”, but are also qualitatively weaker than the promotion aspirants of coach Chris Wilder. We would therefore not be surprised if a bet on a home win between Middlesbrough and Sunderland pays off and the hosts thus undertake a kind of re-start to what has been a messed-up season so far.

Middlesbrough – Statistics & current form

In the run-up to this second division season, Middlesbrough were high on many pundits’ lists of potential promotion candidates. After the Red and Whites narrowly failed to make the playoffs in seventh place in 2021/22, coach Chris Wilder was able to go on a more extended shopping spree. Although key players such as Spence and Tavernier left the club, the squad was cleverly strengthened, especially across the board. At least that’s what they thought.

As things stand, however, there is not much evidence of further development under the coach who also led Sheffield United from mid-table in the Championship to the Premier League. The players from North Yorkshire have just six measly points to their name. They have only one home win, three draws and three defeats. Last Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat at Watford failed to confirm their previous 2-1 home win over Swansea.

If there is a turnaround, it will surely be at home…

Nevertheless, Boro are naturally much stronger at home than away at the Riverside Stadium. Five of the aforementioned six points were recorded at home. After three home games, the Wilder team is still unbeaten in front of its own fans. As a reminder: In the previous season, too, the Lions shone primarily in their own stadium. Only Fulham, who were promoted, managed 14 home wins in 23 attempts.

Although recent performances give little cause for confidence, we are convinced that the high quality in the team will prevail over the course of a long, 46-match Championship season.

In any case, we expect Boro to remain unbeaten in their fourth home game and once again, as is so often the case in England’s lower league, not to score many goals. It is therefore conceivable to combine the double chance bet 1X with the under 3.5 between Middlesbrough and Sunderland. With Zack Steffen, Darragh Lenihan and Jonny Howson, three potential regulars are in danger of being absent. However, the last word has not yet been said here. Alternatives would be Liam Roberts, Anfernee Dijksteel and Dael Fry.

Predicted line-up of Middlesbrough:
Roberts; Dijksteel, Fry, Clarke; Jones, Mowatt, McNair, Crooks, Giles; Forss, Muniz

Last games played by Middlesbrough:

Championship
31/08/2022 – Watford 2 – 1 Middlesboro

27/08/2022 – Middlesboro 2 – 1 Swansea

20/08/2022 – Reading 1 – 0 Middlesboro

18/08/2022 – Stoke 2 – 2 Middlesboro

14/08/2022 – Middlesboro 2 – 2 Sheffield United

Sunderland – Statistics & current form

While the pressure is already on for the hosts in view of their poor start to the season, the visitors from Sunderland are fairly relaxed going into Monday night’s game. The Black Cats can be satisfied with the first seven match days. Although eleven points out of a possible 21 are not a sensational figure either, it is fair to say that the promoted team has quickly acclimatised to the higher division.

Three wins, two draws and two defeats have been recorded so far. With eleven goals scored and eight conceded, the goal ratio indicates a good balance between offence and defence. Only in two of the seven matches mentioned above would a bet on the over 3.5 have gone through. Four times in a row, the maximum number of goals scored in matches involving AFC was three, so we prefer the odds on the Under 3.5 for Monday’s clash between Middlesbrough and Sunderland.

First away game for new manager Mowbray

After alternating wins and defeats in each of the last four fixtures, Tony Mowbray’s side last got the better of Rotherham United 3-0, but now face the threat of another defeat in line with that run. The coaching situation is an interesting one for the promoted side, as veteran Mowbray has only been on the Black Cats’ bench since last week.

His predecessor Alex Neil asked for an early contract termination in order to be allowed to move to league rivals Stoke City with immediate effect. Logically, this move made very high waves and also brought some unrest into the environment of the former Premier League club. Whether Mowbray can nip these emerging discussions in the bud with his second win in his second match will be seen on Monday night. In any case, we would refrain from predicting on the visiting team between Middlesbrough and Sunderland.

Predicted Sunderland line-up:
Patterson; O’Nien, Batth, Cirkin; Gooch, Neil, Evans, Clarke; Pritchard; Stewart, Simms

Last matches played by Sunderland:

Championship
01/09/2022 – Sunderland 3 – 0 Rotherham

27/08/2022 – Sunderland 0 – 1 Norwich

20/08/2022 – Stoke 0 – 1 Sunderland

18/08/2022 – Sheffield United 2 – 1 Sunderland

13/08/2022 – Sunderland 2 – 2 Queens Park Rangers

Middlesbrough – Sunderland Direct comparison / H2H record

2017/18 was the last time the two clubs spent a season together in the second-tier Championship. Boro won 1-0 at home and drew 3-3 away from home. Incidentally, a year earlier the clubs had played each other in the Premier League. The red and white lions also had the upper hand in the first and second legs. Four of the five most recent encounters have gone to Middlesbrough. The Black Cats’ last league win was in 2008, also in England’s top flight.

Middlesbrough – Sunderland Tip

For Boro, Monday night’s match already has an important meaning. If the home win between Middlesbrough and Sunderland does not materialise, Chris Wilder’s team would lose their connection to the top for the time being. And this despite the fact that they were considered serious promotion candidates in the run-up to this season.

However, we definitely believe that the Red and Whites will win at home and argue that the home side’s squad is much more capable than it has shown so far. We also put a question mark over the performance of the visitors, which is mainly due to the fact that success and promotion coach Alex Neil left the club the previous week in a cloak-and-dagger operation and was replaced by Tony Mowbray.

Under the new coach, the Blacks Cats enjoyed a 3-0 win over Rotherham United, but the stakes are much higher at the Riverside Stadium, where Boro won 14 of 23 second division games last season and also upset big opposition in the cup.

We have therefore opted to offer combined betting odds of 1X & Under 3.5 between Middlesbrough and Sunderland.