Middlesbrough welcome Cardiff City to the Riverside Stadium in a rearranged Sky Bet Championship clash.
Victory would see Chris Wilder’s Boro climb to seventh and move to within two points of sixth-placed Sheffield United who occupy the final play-off spot.
Cardiff meanwhile can go above Bristol City and Hull City into 17th with a win.
Team News
Marcus Tavernier is a doubt for Middlesbrough after suffering a knock to his ankle in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Swansea City.
Grant Hall (hamstring) and Dael Fry (calf) are also doubtful but Matt Crooks (suspension), Sammy Ameobi and Darnell Fisher (both knee) remain ruled out.
Cardiff will be without Uche Ikpeazu as the striker is ineligible to face his parent club Middlesbrough, due to rules regarding his loan at the Welsh club.
Alex Smithies (leg), George Ratcliffe, Sean Morrison, Isaac Vassell (both knee), Sam Bowen, Alfie Doughty, Isak Davies (all hamstring),
Stat Attack
- Middlesbrough have claimed just five points from their last seven meetings against Cardiff (W1, D2. L4).
- Cardiff have won just two of their last six visits to Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium (W2, D1, L3).
- Boro have kept just one clean sheet against Cardiff in their last ten meetings (W3, D2, L5).
- Andraz Sporar has scored all three of his penalty kicks for Middlesbrough this season in the Championship.
- Aden Flint has been involved in eight goals for Cardiff this season with six goals and two assists.
Prediction
Having sat fifth at the start of the month after their win at Peterborough, Middlesbrough have just gone off the boil with just two points from their last five matches, where they have just lacked the finishing touch and were outclassed defensively especially in three defeats at home.
Boro however did well to scrape a draw at Swansea in an entertaining encounter where they knew Swansea would dominate, yet were able to effectively match their attacking spirit but inaccurate finishing ultimately denied them a much-needed win which would of put them within one win of sixth place.
This match is therefore an absolute must-win for Boro if they’re to move to within two points of the play-offs, especially given their relatively easier final two matches compared to Sheffield Utd so the home crowd will need to play their part in motivating the players to chase victory.
Cardiff meanwhile have been in similar form this month with just one win from four matches but have lost their last two matches by 1-0 results against Luton and Sheffield Utd, so certainly have the potential to be a thorn in Boro’s late push for the play-offs.
Steve Morison’s Bluebirds though can take heart from pushing the Blades all the way in a closely fought contest, although they simply weren’t clinical compared to their hosts which is something that needs to change here.
I however am going for a home win if Boro turn up and are able to get on the front foot with an early goal, although this certainly will be tighter than many might expect if Cardiff continue their recent improvements.
For Boro this match however is simply must-win because even a draw would be hugely damaging for their play-off ambitions.
Prediction: Middlesbrough 2-1 Cardiff
Result: Middlesbrough 2-0 Cardiff
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