Hull City vs Middlesbrough: Betting Odds & Prediction
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Hull City host Middlesbrough at the MKM Stadium this Wednesday night with both sides scrapping for vital points as they look to maintain their push for the Championship play-offs.
The match kicks off at 7:45pm UK time.
Recent Form
Hull City
A six-game winless streak that stretched from February 24th to April Fool’s Day looked to have put pay to Hull's hopes of making the play-offs, but Saturday’s 3-1 victory away at Cardiff will have given them a much-needed timely boost. Things had been looking rosy for Liam Rosenior's Tigers earlier in February. A 2-1 win over Southampton (their fifth league win from six starts), saw them move into sixth spot and the play-off zone. They then hit the buffers with four straight draws, followed by two defeats, which saw them drop to tenth place - their lowest position since October.
It's their home form that could prove costly to their chances of making the play-offs. The Tigers’ points-per-game average is 1.65 on the road, but at the MKM Stadium this season that figure drops to just 1.4. They’ve only won one of their previous eight home encounters in all competitions this year, scoring an average of just 0.87 goals during those games. This compares with 1.44 goals per game on the road.
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Middlesbrough
Michael Carrick’s side maintained their recent rich vein of form on Saturday. A 2-0 home win against Swansea extended their unbeaten run to seven matches (five wins, two draws). Boro’s heavy League Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea at the end of January rocked them hard and they only recorded one win in six Championship encounters following the 6-1 loss to Pochettino’s Blues. However, a 3-1 victory against play-off rivals Norwich at the start of March kick-started this current unbeaten streak and has reignited their playoff ambitions.
Middlesbrough’s recent momentum has been built on a rock-solid defence. They’ve conceded just once in their previous six starts. They also continue to stay focused for the full 90 minutes, allowing just one second half goal to be scored in their previous nine Championship matches. Match goals may have averaged 3.3 per game when Boro have played away in the league this season, but that has dipped to just 1.75 during their previous four road trips.
Prediction
Hull have struggled in front of their home fans this season and should find in-form Middlesbrough a very tough nut to crack. Under 2.5 match goals has come up in eight of Boro’s last nine Championship encounters and we don’t expect the net to be bulging too often at the MKM this Wednesday either.