Forest to add to Middlesbrough's woes

Middlesbrough host Nottingham Forest on Monday evening with both sides needing points for different reasons. Can Sabri Lamouchi’s men continue their race to the play-offs? Have a read of our preview here:

Boro in big trouble

It does not seem long ago that people were discussing Middlesbrough’s chances of reaching the play-offs following an excellent run of results in late December, but that must seem like a distant memory for fans of the Teesside club.

They have been on a terrible run since beating Preston on New Year’s day. In fact, that was the last time Boro won in the Championship.

Since then, they have played nine times and failed to win any having now suffered consecutive defeats in their last three matches. It is a concern and many fans feel Jonathan Woodgate’s time as manager will soon be up.

At the time of writing, they sit just outside the relegation places thanks to a two-goal better goal difference than Wigan who are level with Boro on 37 points.

The fact that Boro are still not actually in the bottom three suggests there have been some pretty poor sides in the Championship this season but can Boro reverse this poor form against Forest?

Having lost each of the last three games by a score line of 1-0, there appears to be not a lot wrong with Middlesbrough and if they can find their scoring touch, something that has been their Achilles heel all season, then they could still climb out of trouble.

Is it play-offs or automatics for Forest?

Can Forest dream of making an automatic promotion push? Leeds have not been in great form while Sabri Lamouchi’s side have been grinding out results, including an impressive victory at Cardiff in mid-week.

They are six-points behind Leeds as it stands and also six points ahead of Bristol City who are currently in seventh.

This season could end in one of three ways:

• They could end up winning automatic promotion, sending Reds fans into delirium and earning Lamouchi the freedom of the city.
• They could finish in the play-offs and face that nail-biting lottery which could see scenes similar to point one or point three.
• They could fall out of the play-offs, sending Forest fans into meltdown with Nottingham burnt to the ground in riots leaving only a charred mark on the ground as evidence the city ever existed.

So as you can see, there is a lot to play for in the remaining games this season.

Middlesbrough v Nottingham Forest betting tip

Despite Boro being close in most of their recent matches, it is hard to see past another win for the away side in this one. That’s why we are backing Forest to win at odds of 17/10 with Betfair.

Bet Forest to win on Betfair