Boro to bounce back against Birmingham
Tuesday Championship actions sees Birmingham travel to Teeside to take on Middlesbrough. Can either of these two avoid a damp ending to their season? Have a read of our preview here:
Boro’s boom need to reignite
Middlesbrough seem to finally have found their groove. It has taken a while but after a dreadful start to the season, they picked up four straight win in December and heading into New Year.
It gave the place a lift and even started some quiet murmurings about a late play-off push, after all, this is the Championship and anything can happen. Jonathan Woodgate finally saw his side pick up results he felt they had deserved long before the win against Stoke started a consistent spell of positive outcomes.
The former Real Madrid defender will have felt aggrieved not to get at least something last Friday when a 1-0 defeat at Fulham ended the good run. They will need to pick themselves up back at home for the visit of stuttering Birmingham on Tuesday night but can take heart from a decent showing in London.
Ashley Fletcher’s more central role has been important during this good spell and his three goals in the last six games are a testament to the new confidence he has found since the tactical tweak from Woodgate.
Lewis Wing has also been an impressive figure and the defence looks much more assured than during the struggles earlier in the campaign but the play-off still appear to be a pipe dream for Boro.
Singing ‘Hey Jude’
When a team is not doing well having a youngster come through in the way Jude Bellingham has at St Andrews is at least a consolation.
The youngster was at it again then Blues drew 1-1 with Cardiff to build upon the much-needed win against Luton. That was their first win in seven-game, a run which had some calling for the head of manager Pep Clotet.
It has been a difficult season for the second-city club, but they should stay clear of the drop with nine points currently separating them and the bottom three. A trip to Boro will prove another difficult test which may well heap more pressure on their Spanish boss.
Middlesbrough v Birmingham betting tip
Boro have finally started to show what they can do and if they can bounce back from Friday’s loss in London, they could well have a good second half of the season. They should have enough about them to beat Birmingham on Tuesday night so we are backing Middlesbrough to win at odds of 5/4 with Betway.
