Two of the biggest teams in the Championship face off on Friday as Southampton host Middlesbrough at St. Mary’s.
Southampton would have had aspirations of earning automatic promotion back to the Premier League by finishing in the top two this season, but they are having to work harder for their return as they are currently in the play off spots.
They two have games in hand over their closest rivals, though, so the Saints are not out of the running for automatic qualification.
Boro, meanwhile, are seven points adrift of the playoffs.
Current Form
Southampton’s current form
Southampton bounced back from a run of three losses in a row to win two matches on the bounce against Birmingham and Sunderland.
There have been plenty of goals in their recent matches, too, as they beat Birmingham 4-3 and Sunderland 4-2.
Middlesbrough current form
Middlesbrough have been frustrating this season as it is seemingly one step forward and then two steps back for Michael Carrick’s side.
However, they can take heart from their recent form as Boro are unbeaten in four and recently defeated QPR, Birmingham and Norwich. Their last match was a 0-0 draw at home against Blackburn.
Team News
Southampton could be without David Brooks for the game as he fell ill during the international break. Though he featured for Wales, he was withdrawn in the second half against Poland, as Wales failed to qualify for Euro 2024.
However, the Saints received a boost with the return to training of Ryan Fraser this week. The Scot has missed around five weeks of action.
For Boro, Riley McGree made it through just 16 minutes of Australia’s first World Cup qualifying clash with Lebanon so is a major doubt for this one.
Marcus Forss is unlikely to feature after suffering a hamstring injury before the international break.
Scoreline Prediction
Southampton’s home form has been decent this season, while Boro have lost eight games on the road. With 13 goals scored in Southampton’s last two games, there should be goals in those one,…
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Author : editors@footballcritic.com (Martin Macdonald)
Publish date : 2024-03-27 14:51:18
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