Eighth will play hosts to ninth in the Championship this weekend as Middlesbrough welcome Coventry City to the Riverside Stadium as two play-off hopefuls clash in what is a must-not-lose fixture in the second tier of English football.
Boro have been making exceptional moves forward under Chris Wilder and it is turning out to be one of the best managerial appointments in recent times as the former Sheffield United man has managed to rocket the club from mid-table slumps all the way up to fighting for a place in the top six.
𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝-𝐭𝐨-𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝.Ahead of this weekend's clash with Coventry, we've compared the stats of Paddy McNair & Kyle McFadzean. 👇 #UTB #Boro @SilverthornGrp pic.twitter.com/kLzS9Qi0ZY— Middlesbrough StatZone (@MiddlesbroughSZ) January 28, 2022
𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝-𝐭𝐨-𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝.Ahead of this weekend's clash with Coventry, we've compared the stats of Paddy McNair & Kyle McFadzean. 👇 #UTB #Boro @SilverthornGrp pic.twitter.com/kLzS9Qi0ZY
This comes after Wilder's 11 games in charge which has seen him win seven, draw two and lose and further two to put him with a sensational record of 63.6% with the North East side since November.
On the other hand, they did manage to see defeat come their way last time out as they played host to Blackburn Rovers who managed to steal all three points when Sam Gallagher scored late on in the game.
It shows the club still have work to do to threaten the top end of the table, but at the same time, proved the side's newly-found defensive stability under Wilder.
Prior to this, however, the Riverside natives were on a seven-game unbeaten streak which included incredible wins over the likes of Bournemouth, Huddersfield Town, and Nottingham Forest which seriously closed the gap on the play-off places.
They also edged past League Two Mansfield Town in the FA Cup, which needed a 95th own goal from Elliot Hewitt to help them out.
As of now, Boro sit in eighth and have a game in hand over those from seventh to fifth, which should they win, would launch them back into the top six and narrowly behind the likes of Queens Park Rangers and Bournemouth.
Furthermore, their record of 26 goals conceded in the Championship is the joint-fourth best in the table and makes for very positive reading during this hectic period.
Coventry themselves are in the midst of their best season in many years as they sit ninth in the table and with their two games in hand over fifth-placed West Brom, if they can win them, the Midlands outfit will too be welcomed into the play-off spots.
They also returned to winning ways last time out with a 1-0 win over Stoke City.
It should be a convincing win for Boro once more, as they seem to have found a new lease of life under Wilder, and Forebet predicts a win for them and the game to see over 2.5 goals.