Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off in the Championship features another top six clash at the Riverside Stadium when Middlesbrough entertain Leeds United with three precious points at stake for both teams.
Middlesbrough sit in 5th place in the second tier and all seems to be going to plan so far for Tony Pulis and his squad as they occupy a play-off place heading into this important clash, and they’re likely to be bubbling with confidence after last weekend’s win away at West Brom.
Boro pulled off what seemed an unlikely win at The Hawthorns, running out 3-2 winners and they’ll fancy their chances against a Leeds United side who look ready for the taking up in the north east this Saturday.
After a shaky period themselves, which saw the hosts register just one win from the end of November through to Boxing Day (a 1-0 win away at struggling Reading), Boro have bounced back in impressive fashion as they’ve strung together a five match unbeaten sequence which includes wins over Ipswich Town, Birmingham City and best of all, West Brom.
Middlesbrough’s home record stands at W6 D5 L3 scored 14 and conceded 9 to date under Pulis who likes to keep things tight at the back. Indeed, in typical Pulis fashion, Boro have kept 8 clean sheets to date and the under 2.5 result has been achieved in 12 of their 14 home matches to date.
Onto Leeds United and the visitors suffered another setback in their quest for automatic promotion when they lost a five-goal thriller against rivals Norwich City at Elland Road which would have been a big body blow for the Yorkshire outfit.
Leeds have now only won twice in their last six league matches in the Championship and they have their early season form to be thankful for as they still somehow sit in second place, but now only hold a three point cushion ahead of 3rd placed Sheffield United.
With recent results in mind, which include four defeats against Hull City, Nottingham Forest, Stoke City and Norwich City, this trip to Middlesbrough now looks even tougher for Marcelo Bielsa’s men who are now perhaps feeling the pressure of expectation having been in the top two of the Championship for the majority of the season.
Only 5 of Leeds’s 15 away matches in the Championship have resulted in under 2.5 goals but they’ll be up against a more solid defensive unit in a Middlesbrough outfit moulded by Tony Pulis whose side are unlikely to approach this match in the same gung-ho fashion as say, Norwich City.
Leeds know they simply cannot afford another defeat here, so this match looks like being a tight and low scoring affair.