Leeds United need points to keep alive their hopes of automatic promotion as they make the relatively short 69 mile journey north to Teeside.
Middlesbrough vs Leeds United match preview
With just three games to in the EFL Championship season, will Leeds United move back into the automatic promotion places?
As recently as 17 March, Daniel Farke’s team went top of the table for the first time all season, following a 2-0 win over Millwall that meant the Whites had accumulated 37 points from the last 39 available.
Since then however, Leeds have won just one of five matches, coming into this one without a win in three, beaten by Coventry away and then, most-recently, Blackburn Rovers at home last weekend.
So, ahead of kick off in this Monday night clash, Leicester are top on 91 points, Ipswich sit second on 89 with Leeds third on 87, while Southampton are only three points behind; all four clubs have three games to go.
After this, the Whites travel to Queens Park Rangers on Friday night, before hosting Southampton eight days later in, what they hope will be, their last game of the season.
Realistically, to end up in a top two spot, Leeds need to win all three of these matches, given that their automatic promotion destiny is out of their own hands, so can they get back to winning ways on Teeside?
As for Middlesbrough, they were beaten in last season’s play-offs by Coventry, having finished fourth, although their faint hopes of another play-off campaign could be over come full time in this one.
Boro kick off ninth, nine points below sixth-placed Norwich and, due to the fact their goal difference is 11 inferior, a top six finish is extremely unlikely, but anything other than a win here would mathematically seal their fate.
Michael Carrick’s team have paid the price for a catastrophic start to the campaign, yielding just two points from their opening seven matches.
Right now, Boro are unbeaten in nine, holding Ipswich to a 1-1 draw at Portman Road last time out, with Emmanuel Latte Lath breaking the deadlock in Suffolk.
So, even though Middlesbrough won’t be in the Premier League next season, they’d love to dent Leeds’ hopes of achieving just that at the Riverside.
Middlesbrough vs Leeds United Tips
We’re expecting a high-scoring Monday night affair, not least because the reverse fixture in December finished 3-2 to Leeds, with all the goals at Elland Road coming in a breathless first half.
Overall, the last 27 meetings between these two have produced 65 goals, an average of 2.4 per 90.
This season, 37% of Leeds’ matches have seen both teams scored and 3+ goals, while this has occurred in 43% of Boro’s EFL Champions of EFL Cup matches.
If Leeds United are going to leave Teeside with all three points, they’ll need star winger Crysencio Summerville to be on top form.
The Dutchman has scored 18 times this season, netting against both Watford and Hull over Easter weekend, so we’re backing him to score against Middlesbrough, as he did in the reverse fixture.
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