It’s been quite a turnaround for Saturday afternoon’s hosts, Middlesbrough, as they extended their unbeaten run under manager, Jonathan Woodgate, to 5 matches overall in all competitions after they held Premier League outfit, Tottenham, to a 1-1 draw at home in the third round of the FA Cup last weekend.
Middlesbrough had previously recorded 4 wins on the trot in the Championship as Boro seem to have finally clicked into gear under Woodgate, collecting impressive wins against Stoke City, Huddersfield Town, 2nd placed West Brom and Preston North End to help lift the north-east side away from the relegation zone and up into 16th place.
The hosts have also won their last 4 matches on the trot on home turf at their Riverside Stadium too as Boro have registered earlier wins over Barnsley and Charlton Athletic, while also being unbeaten in their last 6 matches in their own backyard prior to Saturday’s encounter against Derby County.
This season’s form at home has been solid overall for Middlesbrough as the hosts have lost just 3 of their 13 matches at home so far this term.
Onto Derby County and it’s been a season of two parts for The Rams as they’ve been hard to beat on home turf at Pride Park but have been distinctly average away from home as they’ve picked up just 1 win on their travels all season to date.
A 1-1 draw away at Wigan Athletic was followed by recent back-to-back wins at home against Charlton Athletic and Barnsley, but again, their success has been achieved mostly at Pride Park this season.
On the road, Derby have been a completely different beast as they make their way up to the north-east on the back of 11 matches without a win on their travels in the Championship, and indeed, haven’t managed to win an away match since their opening win of the season on the road at Huddersfield Town in a 2-1 victory back in early August.
Indeed, had it not been for Derby’s solid form at Pride Park this season, manager Phillip Cocu would have struggled to retain his position at the helm of The Rams due to their inability to perform on the road in this campaign.
Middlesbrough with momentum at home should be able to account for a poor-travelling Derby outfit here.