Eng. Championship
2012-04-21 - Middlesbrough vs Southampton
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Championship
Saturday 21 April 2012 - Kick Off 5:20pm
This game is live on TV
Middlesbrough
The Play Offs looked to be the least of the expectations that Middlesbrough fans had as they were in the top 2 for much of the early part of the season, but even that is beginning to look out of reach for Tony Mowbray's men. They cannot afford to drop more points here after drawing with Doncaster Rovers 0-0.
Middlesbrough are 7th in the Championship and find themselves 4 points behind Cardiff City and Blackpool in the final Play Off places. It is entirely possible, with this being the late game, that anything less than a win could see Boro miss out altogether and that will bring a different kind of pressure. They are 7-10-5 at home this season, scoring 20 goals and conceding 20.
The team have won just 1 of their last 10 League games which has seen them drop out of the top 6 places with the 0-0 draw here with already relegated Doncaster Rovers putting them in this precarious position. Boro have failed to win any of their last 4 home games, picking up just 2 points from a possible 12 available and only scoring 1 goal in those games.
Joe Bennett and Faris Haroun should both be in the squad, but Marvin Emnes and Rhys Williams are doubtful. Matthew Bates has been ruled out for the rest of the season.
Southampton
Southampton will still have eyes on winning the Championship title, although they will need a slip up from Reading. More importantly for Nigel Adkins, the Saints need just 2 points to guarantee their place in the Premier League next season which would be a remarkable achievement for a side that was promoted from League One last season.
They currently sit 5 points clear of West Ham in the final automatic promotion spot and that puts them in the driving seat with just 2 games left to play this season. They are likely to find themselves 6 points behind Reading at the start of this game as the Royals entertain Crystal Palace at 3pm. Southampton are 10-6-6 away from home this season, scoring 35 goals and conceding 26.
The Saints lost their lead at the top of the table thanks to winning just 2 of their last 5 League games, but there is a lot of character shown by the side as they won 1-3 at Peterborough United during the week to put them within touching distance of the Premier League. Southampton have won 6 of their last 7 away games in the Championship.
It has been indicated that the same side that won at Peterborough will start this game for Nigel Adkins.
Head to Head
Southampton beat Middlesbrough 3-0 at St Mary's earlier this season.
This will be the first meeting at the Riverside Stadium in 7 seasons when Southampton won here 1-3.
Southampton have won on 3 of their last 5 visits to this part of the North East, losing just 1 of those games.
Prediction
Southampton should go up to the Premier League, but I am not sure if they will have to wait until Monday at least to secure their place as this is not an easy place to play football.
However, I think Southampton will be able to score here as they have proved by scoring at least 2 goals in 5 of their last 7 away games in the Championship.
Middlesbrough have really been struggling down the stretch in the last few weeks and that run of form looks set to see them miss the Play Offs and a chance to return to the Premier League. They also have struggled at home against the better teams in the League as Cardiff City, West Ham, Reading and Blackpool have all managed to score at least 2 goals in this stadium.
The Saints are priced at 2.38 to do the same as those other teams and the way they have been playing I will be happy to take that as a slightly shorter price on them to win the game.
The Pick :
Middlesbrough 0-2 Southampton
