Middlesbrough v Nottingham Forest
Monday March 2, 19:45
Sky Sports
Middlesbrough on the brink
Middlesbrough boss Jonathan Woodgate has said he will analyse himself and his players following the Teessiders third successive defeat on Wednesday. Boro’s winless run extended to nine (W0-D4-L5) with a 1-0 home reverse to promotion-chasing Leeds in midweek with the club now only outside of the relegation zone by virtue of a better goal difference.
Woodgate made three changes to the team that had suffered a damaging 1-0 defeat at Barnsley and made a tactical twist against Leeds. The boss opted to line up with the defensive 4-2-3-1 shape that was fielded in the 2-0 away win at table-topping West Brom in December looking to soak up pressure and strike out with quick counter-attacks.
Boro showed plenty of endeavour and flashes of fight but, despite the changes, were woefully short on quality up front. The Teessiders beavered away but it was shapeless and toothless and increasingly desperate as they chased the game. Paddy McNair, Ravel Morrison and Lukas Nmecha are amongst those hoping for a recall on Monday night.
Nottingham Forest collect vital victory
Nottingham Forest head coach Sabri Lamouchi saluted the effort of his players as they returned with a 1-0 win from their visit to Cardiff on Tuesday night. Tiago Silva‘s second half strike ended a run of three games without a victory for the Reds but they did not have it all their own way in South Wales, as Lamouchi spoke of his pride in a solid defensive display.
The Tricky Trees edged a scrappy first 45 minutes with Silva, Sammy Ameobi and Lewis Grabban all going close. Forest then went on to open the scoring soon after the restart, with Silva finishing off Grabban’s cut-back five minutes into the second period before battening down the hatches and producing a resolute and tireless performance thereafter.
Lamouchi said, “It was a fantastic performance and a great result. The lads deserved this victory. But what a game – what effort and sacrifice from everyone.” Grabban and Ameobi have both been struggling in recent weeks, but appear to be playing through the pain barrier to aid the promotion push. Meanwhile, Samba Sow remains a major doubt.
Middlesbrough have been second-best in recent head-to-heads with Nottingham Forest, registering a solitary success in six (W1-D1-L4) Championship meetings since the start of 2016. Boro have been beaten at the Riverside twice in their most recent three encounters with the Tricky Trees, the last of which was a 2-0 loss here in October last season.
Middlesbrough [2.62] are winless since New Year’s Day (W0-D4-L5) and failed to take top honours in each of their past five at the Riverside (W0-D3-L2). The hosts are actually winless in 10 when welcoming teams in 15th and above (W0-D4-L6) this season, failing to even score in four when entertaining four clubs from the Championship’s current top-five (W0-D1-L3).
Nottingham Forest [2.84] returning to winning ways in midweek although the Reds’ inconsistent nature when taking on the league’s lesser lights could prove costly come May. The fourth-placed Tricky Trees have W6-D6-L1 against the top-10 this term, however, Sabri Lamouchi’s men have managed just W10-D5-L8 against the rest of the division.
The Riverside Stadium has been the Championship’s dreariest ground for goals per-game this season with supporters seeing a measly 1.83 goals on average. A huge 14/18 (78%) of those fixtures featured fewer than three goals and Under 2.5 Goals has proven a profitable formula in seven of eight matches here against top-half teams under Jonathan Woodgate.
It’s a trend that’s matched by Nottingham Forest’s away days with the Reds taking a more conservative approach to matches outside of their City Ground base. Nevertheless, the Tricky Trees have scored in all bar two of their 18 away days despite 10/18 (56%) of those fixtures also paying out for Under 2.5 Goals backers.
Considering Boro’s plight, it makes sense to support the guests in the Double Chance market here alongside Forest to score Over 0.5 Goals at kind 1.75 quotes via Betfair Sportsbook’s Same Game Multi option.
Source: BetFair Tips
