Middlesbrough’s main priority is Premier League survival this season. However, this weekend the north east side’s attention is turned to the FA Cup third round as Aitor Karanka’s side host Championship Sheffield Wednesday at the Riverside Stadium.
Boro boss Karanka has called for his side to show more of an attacking threat. The side from the north east are the joint-lowest scorers in the Premier League alongside bottom club Hull City, which illustrates their struggles in front of goal this season.
Karanka’s team have been strong in defence, though, just like they were last season. The home side have not been in great form of late, winning just one of their last six games. They have had extremely mixed fortunes on home soil, with three wins, two defeats and one draw in their last six games on home soil.
The Premier League side have kept clean sheets in three of their last four home games, illustrating their solid defensive record of late. The home side face a potential banana skin in a game against Championship Sheffield Wednesday.
The Owls are unbeaten in five games and are sixth in the Championship table. Carlos Carvahal’s side have drawn their last two games. A big feature of the Owls play of late has been their defensive record. The Yorkshire side have kept four clean sheets in their last five games.
Wednesday’s recent games have been low-scoring, with under 2.5 goals scored in their last five games. Their away games have been low-scoring of late as well, with under 2.5 goals scored in four of their last five outings.
The statistics point to a very low-scoring clash in this one. Forebet predicts that the home side will edge this clash, which would be a good result for Boro, as Sheffield Wednesday offer a real threat to their presence in the competition.