Boro to pick up second away win
Preston 3.185/40 v Middlesbrough 2.546/4; The Draw 3.259/4
Wednesday, 19:00
Saturday’s insipid 1-0 defeat to Stoke was overshadowed by Middlesbrough manager Neil Warnock‘s post-match rant about the away dressing room. The Yorkshireman will also have been fairly unhappy with the outcome of the match, with his side managing just a single shot on target throughout the 90 minutes. It was a scrappy game, which featured 34 fouls, and very few clear-cut chances. There was very little between the two teams, with the only major difference being that Stoke were clinical when it mattered, whilst George Saville was only able rattle the woodwork for the visitors.
Boro remain tenth in the Championship and still look perfectly capable of making the play-offs this season, however, they must improve their form away from the Riverside Stadium. The Teessiders have a 1-4-3 record on the road and have netted on just five occasions. However, their defence remains relatively assured, and they will fancy their chances of getting something from this tie.
Fans will be hoping that former Sunderland man Duncan Watmore is given the chance to recreate his goalscoring heroics from seven days ago. The 26-year old put in a stunning performance against Swansea at the Riverside last week, only to be dropped to the bench for the trip to Staffordshire. With Patrick Roberts and Britt Assombalonga also pushing for starts, Warnock is likely to make changes for this fixture.
Stoke have become very adept at sitting on leads and holding firm, and Boro didn’t have enough creativity to unpick their back-line. However, PNE are a very different proposition and with several defenders missing for this fixture, they may struggle to contain the likes of Marcus Tavernier and the aforementioned Watmore.
Preston left it late to salvage a point against Wycombe on Saturday, and despite boasting the best away form in the Championship, Alex Neil‘s side just cannot seem to find any sort of cohesion at Deepdale. They have a 1-1-6 record here, and with several players missing, that underwhelming run of form looks set to continue on Wednesday evening. Darnell Fisher serves the final game of his three-match man, Patrick Bauer remains on the sidelines and the loss of Ben Pearson is a significant blow to their chances of climbing the table. With Josh Earl also out, and both Joe Rafferty and Paul Huntingdon really struggling to cut it at this level, Middlesbrough will be expected to take full advantage.
With Huntingdon in the side, Preston look vulnerable and have conceded a goal on average every 45 minutes. Neil will be keen to strengthen his defence in the January transfer window, however, he will simply have to make do with his current squad for the time being.
Although the visitors’ recent record on the road is less than impressive, I think they should have enough defensive strength to overcome the division’s poorest home side. Warnock is a grizzled veteran who knows how to edge games at this level, and they look worth backing at 2.546/4 on the Exchange.
Plenty of entertainment expected at the Liberty
Swansea 2.942/1 v Bournemouth 2.6413/8; The Draw 3.412/5
Tuesday, 19:45
Swansea have become one of the toughest sides to beat in the second tier with the Welsh outfit having lost just three times so far. They also have just a solitary home defeat to their name, and although they aren’t as prolific as last season, Steve Cooper’s men always seem to find a way to hit the back of the net. They’ve only failed to register in two of their 16 outings so far this campaign with their last blank arriving at Carrow Road at the beginning of November.
Having claimed 10 points from their last five matches, they will be full of confidence ahead of this clash. They’ve also managed to avoid picking up too many injuries during the opening third of the campaign with only Morgan Gibbs-White and George Byers having to spend time in the treatment room in recent weeks.
Cooper has already spoken of his desire to strengthen his squad in January and he’ll be looking to reinforce his striking options once the window opens. They’ve netted just 19 times in their opening 16 matches with Andre Ayew responsible for seven of those efforts.
Although they are yet to hit the back of the net more than twice in any match, their defence has been excellent so far, and they’ve kept five clean sheets in their opening eight fixtures at the Liberty. Huddersfield are the only team to have breached the home defence on more than one occasion, and they are likely to make it tough for the Cherries on Tuesday evening.
Bournemouth have made an excellent start to the season under Jason Tindall and they come into this fixture just one point behind leaders Norwich. Similar to their hosts, they’ve only drawn two blanks this campaign, however, they’ve found clean sheets much harder to come by. Having said that, the South Coast club were superb on Friday night as they cruised past Barnsley at Oakwell, and the general feeling amongst the fanbase is that this squad is starting to find its feet in the second tier, and is beginning to live up to its enormous potential.
Friday’s success was the first time that Tindall’s men have registered a clean sheet on the road, and they’ll be hoping to make it back-to-back shutouts. However, it should be much tougher against one of their potential promotion rivals. They’ve netted nine times in their last three away trips, and they should have enough to find a way past a stoic Swans back-line.
Both sides are scoring goals from all areas of the pitch, and accumulatively, they have seen 23 different players add their names to the score-sheet so far this season. This should be a hugely entertaining watch, and a high-quality 90 minutes.
BTTS is available at a very tempting 1.814/5 on the Exchange and looks to be the standout pick in this closely-fought contest.
Forest’s woes to continue at Carrow Road
Norwich 1.794/5 v Nottingham Forest 54/1; The Draw 3.7511/4
Tuesday, 19:45
Norwich‘s injury list shows no signs of abating just yet, however, the Canaries are still finding ways to win games. Saturday’s victory against Sheffield Wednesday was perhaps a little lucky, although it was enough to keep the East Anglian side top of the pile, and although they have several players sidelined, they will be feeling extremely confident going into Wednesday night’s home clash with Nottingham Forest.
The hosts will once again be backed by 2000 vociferous fans, and they are likely to rely upon on the classy Mario Vrancic to create opportunities in the final third. Emi Buendia also returned to the side at the weekend, and he should enjoy coming up against a Forest defence which has kept just three clean sheets so far this campaign.
Even with their extensive raft of absentees, Norwich still have plenty of options, with Alex Tettey and teenager Josh Martin both vying for a start on Wednesday evening.
The home side have a 4-3-1 record here, and they have conceded just three times in their last six outings at Carrow Road. With Forest struggling for firepower this season, the partnership of Grant Hanley and Ben Gibson should be able to keep the visitors are arm’s length throughout the 90 minutes.
The visitors remain perilously close to the bottom three, and drew yet another blank at the weekend. They left the Madjeski with nothing to show for their efforts and managed just two shots on goal in Berkshire. Ryan Yates’ dismissal won’t have helped matters, and he will miss this midweek fixture. Despite a relatively positive start, Chris Hughton is struggling to get a tune out of his side, and they haven’t scored a Championship goal since November 7th.
Having failed to find the net in six of their last eight away games, they could find it tough to penetrate the Norwich defence, and are unlikely to take anything from this contest. Anthony Knockaert and Joe Lolley are perfectly capable operators at this level and put in a decent shift at the weekend, however, the two widemen can’t be expected to carry the entire goalscoring burden this season, and Hughton must find a way of improving his frontline’s productivity.
They look unlikely to end their winless run at this ground, so backing Norwich at a relatively short 1.794/5 on the Exchange looks the best option.
You can follow Jack Critchley on Twitter @jcritch7
Source: Betfair UK English Championship
