Middlesbrough welcome Fulham to the Riverside Stadium in a huge rearranged Sky Bet Championship clash.
Victory could see Boro climb as high as fourth in the table, whereas Fulham can move 11 points clear of second-placed Bournemouth with a win if the Cherries lose elsewhere.
Team News
Riley McGree could start for Middlesbrough after being named as an unused substitute in Saturday’s win at Peterborough, on his return from a calf injury.
Martin Payero (ankle), Sammy Ameobi and Darnell Fisher (both knee) remain ruled out.
Fulham have no fresh injury concerns to report as Antonee Robinson looks to start after being rested in Saturday’s win at QPR.
Stat Attack
- Middlesbrough are winless in their last five league meetings against Fulham (D3, L2).
- Fulham are unbeaten in four of their last five visits to Middlesbrough (W1, D3, L1), with all three draws finishing goalless.
- Each of Boro’s last two defeats against Fulham were in 1-0 results in January 2018 & 20 respectively.
- No Boro player this season has created more assists than Isiah Jones, who has assisted in nine goals this season.
- Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic has scored from six of his seven penalty kicks this season.
Prediction
Having recently hit an away rut, Middlesbrough certainly seemed to have put that behind them with a clinical display at Peterborough but now need to avoid a home rut, having previously lost their last home match against Chelsea in the FA Cup last month.
Fulham meanwhile ended their two-match rut with a dominant performance at free-falling QPR where they produced a solid defensive effort plus a number of fast-paced attacks which ultimately paid dividends.
I however am expecting a tight battle here but a goalless draw certainly would be a slight surprise given the goalscoring form of both clubs, although Middlesbrough’s defence probably will need to be wary of Fulham’s quick attacking ability.
Folarin Balogun however is going to be Boro’s strongest threat given his form in the last month for club and country, yet Fulham possess Mitrovic up front so finishing could well be crucial in this attacking battle of youth vs experienced strikers.
On that note, I am plumping for a score draw because it is hard to separate these two teams given their current quality.
Prediction: Middlesbrough 1-1 Fulham
Result: Middlesbrough 0-1 Fulham