Blackburn v Middlesbrough: Boro backed on Monday night

“The visitors have W6-D2-L1 under the new boss’ watch, with Boro ranking inside the top-four for the majority of performance data metrics during those nine fixtures”

Blackburn v Middlesbrough
Monday January 24, 19:45
Sky Sports

Blackburn beaten by Hull

Blackburn suffered their first Championship defeat in 11 on Wednesday night as goals from George Honeyman and Tom Eaves gave Hull a 2-0 victory over Rovers at the MKM Stadium. The hosts’ capitalised on lacklustre defending to take an early lead, with the second goal arriving despite legitimate complaints over goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski being impeded.

Having endured teething problems with their adjusted shape in light of Lewis Travis‘ absence, Blackburn had grown into the game after a sloppy start but were unable to make their domination pay as their early endeavour dissipated. However, manager Tony Mowbray admitted post-match that Rovers failed to hit top gear in Humberside.

Mowbray said, “We fell a little bit short. We huffed and puffed but it was a difficult night. We had a lot of opportunities that, at the end of the day, we might have scored. Hull had their chances and worked hard and scored two goals.”

Blackburn will be without star forward Ben Brereton Diaz on Monday evening after the Chile international was called up for the nation’s latest World Cup qualifiers.

Middlesbrough extend winning streak

Middlesbrough manager Chris Wilder has called on his players to embrace rising expectations at the club, brought about by Boro’s excellent recent form. The Teessiders are now unbeaten in eight games and on a five-game winning run in all competitions, climbing to sixth in the Championship following a last-gasp success against Reading last weekend.

Matt Crooks scored the 95th-minute winner with the club posting W6-D2-L1 in the league under Wilder’s charge. The Boro boss said, “You have to embrace it [the expectations] if you want to be successful and we want to be successful. We want this run to continue. We don’t want to look back and think it was a decent period and then we fell away.”

Aaron Connolly made a positive impression on debut in the Middlesbrough frontline against Reading and supporters will be hoping to see more from fellow new additions Folarin Balogun and Riley McGree on Monday night with Wilder confirming the duo are in contention for starts at Ewood Park as competition for places begins to hot up.

Matches between Blackburn and Middlesbrough have traditionally tended to be tight affairs. In fact, of the last 18 league meetings between the duo, 11 have ended all-square, including the head-to-head earlier this season. Similarly, at Ewood Park, the pair have played out eight stalemates in the most recent 18 renewals dating back to 1997.

Since a 7-0 home defeat to Fulham in November, Blackburn 2.608/5 boast a superb W8-D2-L1 return, keeping seven clean sheets in their latest nine league encounters. Tony Mowbray’s team have also posted W9-D3-L2 on home soil this season, although Rovers’ results against the top-half haven’t been quite so eye-catching (W4-D4-L4 overall and W1-D3-L2 at home).

Middlesbrough 3.052/1 have made immediate improvements under Chris Wilder’s tutorship. The visitors have W6-D2-L1 under the new boss’ watch, with Boro ranking inside the top-four for the majority of performance data metrics during those nine fixtures. The guests also come into this contest with a respectable W5-D4-L3 record against fellow top-half teams.

Blackburn had been one of the Championship’s chief entertainers throughout the campaign but recent defensive improvements have seen the club’s total goals per-game figures takes a slight dip. In fact, Rovers have returned Under 2.5 Goals 1.608/13 in seven of their most recent 10 league encounters, as one team has failed to score in nine of their past 12 tussles.

Middlesbrough have tightened up since Chris Wilder arrived, picking up four clean sheets in their last six. Boro have scored themselves in 13 of their past 15 Championship outings, although still lack a clinical edge in the final-third, notching multiple goals in only 11 fixtures this season. Away from The Riverside, 75% of encounters have produced Under 2.5 Goals.

Both teams are trending in the right direction, and making clear and obvious improvements at the back, although the absence of Ben Brereton Diaz in the Blackburn ranks arguably gives Middlesbrough the edge as underdogs on Monday night. Therefore, I’m happy to support Boro Double Chance and Under 3.5 Goals at 1.804/5 on the Bet Builder.