Middlesbrough and Huddersfield both have designs on Premier League promotion, making Easter Monday’s meeting an intriguing six-pointer. Mark O’Haire shares his views.
Middlesbrough pick up vital point
Middlesbrough manager Chris Wilder was happy to take a point away from Good Friday’s fixture with high-flying Bournemouth the Vitality Stadium. The Boro boss praised the spirit shown by his side, bouncing back from two straight defeats to hold their own in a goalless draw in Dorset, keeping the club’s play-off aspirations alive.
Boro had slipped to eighth after defeats to Fulham and Hull City, which Wilder admitted had dented confidence. But in a scrappy game with very few chances for either side, the Teessiders chief was encouraged by the character shown by his side to come to second in the league and leave with a point after a solid defensive display.
Wilder said: “I didn’t think it was a back-foot performance. I didn’t think we set up to sit deep and not lose. We could have, but we were brave. You have to dip that bit deeper, jump that bit higher and battle that bit harder, which they did. If you don’t have that spirit we’ve got, you get comfortably beaten here. We were well worth something from the game.”
Huddersfield held at home
Huddersfield chief Carlos Corberan had no complaints after seeing his Terriers team settle for a share of the spoils in an enjoyable 2-2 draw at home to out-of-form QPR on Good Friday. Town led twice taken the lead at the John Smith’s Stadium through Yoann Barbet’s own goal and Harry Toffolo‘s bullet header, the goals arriving early in each half.
But with plenty of Huddersfield’s promotion-chasing rivals also dropping points, the Terriers remain right in the mix for a top-six finish, and potentially more. Town are third as we approach the final furlong, four points adrift of second-placed Bournemouth having played two more games, and seven points clear of seventh-placed Middlesbrough.
Speaking post-match, Corberan said, “At the end I think the result was the fair result in terms of what each team did on the pitch. We wanted to get the three points but I have to appreciate the players’ efforts. There are things we can improve on but I saw the players competing with the mentality they need to have if we are to be successful so I’m pleased.”
Middlesbrough have enjoyed recent head-to-head meetings with Huddersfield. Boro boast a W7-D3-L1 return in Championship clashes between the two going back to 2013 – that includes a 2-1 success at the John Smith’s Stadium back in late November. The host have also claimed W7-D1-L0 when entertaining Town in league action going back to 1985.
Middlesbrough 1.8810/11 were 14th when Chris Wilder took charge in November but have enjoyed an eye-catching revival, collecting the sixth-most Championship points under the new regime (W12-D5-L7). The majority of Boro’s best work has been done on Teesside with the Reds picking up a W8-D2-L0 record when hosting opposition during Wilder’s tenure.
Huddersfield 4.707/2 were the Championship’s form team going back to the beginning of December as the Terriers put together an exceptional 17-game unbeaten streak. Back-to-back losses halted progress but Town have recovered of late, and have now lost just seven of their 38 showdowns against sides outside of the top-two (W18-D13-L7).
Middlesbrough matches under Chris Wilder have largely been fun affairs although their goals per-game output has dipped as we approach the business end of the campaign. At The Riverside, Boro’s much-improved rearguard has allowed only six goals against in their last 10 home ties, and recording nine clean sheets in their past 20 Championship fixtures.
Huddersfield’s outings favour a low-scoring approach with Carlos Corberan’s side returning rock-solid defensive numbers. Only Sheffield United (18) have kept more shutouts than the Terriers’ tally, suggesting Easter Monday’s fixture could prove to be quite a tight affair, especially considering what’s at stake for both sides in the promotion picture.
With that in mind, the 1.814/5 on Under 2.5 Goals is of real interest. Seven of Middlesbrough’s 12 tussles on Teessiders under Wilder have seen this selection bank, whilst only seven of Huddersfield’s 19 away days when excluding the top-two have also produced a maximum of two goals this term.
Source: Betfair UK English Championship
