Free betting tips: Sky Bet Championship - Middlesbrough v West Brom
Friday night's Sky Bet Championship comes at the Riverside where Middlesbrough meet West Brom. Tom Carnduff is backing corners.
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Middlesbrough v West Brom (Riverside Stadium, Friday 24th August, 1945 BST, Sky Sports Football)
Middlesbrough will be aiming to return to the top of the Sky Bet Championship at this early point when they welcome West Brom to the Riverside on Friday night.
Despite a tough start, the Baggies have responded with two victories and will remain quietly confident that they can pick something up on the road.
I'm intrigued by the value in backing corners here, and the 7/4 price available on over 11.5 corners looks tempting given the track record shown by these two sides already this season.
Out of the four games Middlesbrough have played this season, three have produced 12 or more corners - while West Brom are currently posting an 11.5 average after the same number of outings.
The hosts have numbers in defence, who can be a presence at set pieces so they will have no issue testing their luck with balls into the box and corners could be beneficial to Tony Pulis' men.
What both sides possess is quality in attack, with players who can cause defences problems from out wide and through the centre.
Middlesbrough's lack of wingers will be of concern, although the likes of Stewart Downing and Martin Braithwaite will aim to find Britt Assombalonga from wide positions, creating opportunities for deflections behind.
In terms of the outcome of the game, West Brom's revival in recent weeks will make this an interesting affair, albeit one that Boro are more than equipped to emerge from with victory.
They're on a three-game winning run without conceding a goal, and although West Brom are the division's highest scorers with 13 goals in total, it's the home side who are favoured.
Score prediction: Middlesbrough 2-1 West Brom (Sky Bet odds: 9/1)
Best bet: Over 11.5 corners at 7/4
Opta facts
- Middlesbrough are winless in eight games against West Brom in all competitions (D4 L4) since a 2-0 win in February 2006.
- West Brom’s last trip to the Riverside outside the top-flight came in September 2009 – they hammered them 5-0 under Roberto Di Matteo, with Middlesbrough then managed by Gareth Southgate.
- Middlesbrough have won 12 of their last 14 matches on a Friday in all competitions (D1 L1), though they lost most recently in March 2018 against Wolves.
- West Bromwich Albion haven’t played away from home on a Friday since Boxing Day in 2008, when they lost 2-0 at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea.
- Since scoring in the 97th minute against Millwall, none of Middlesbrough’s six league goals have been scored beyond the 32nd minute of matches.
- West Brom striker Jay Rodriguez has scored three penalties for West Brom this season – as many as the Baggies had scored as a team in the last three league seasons combined.
Odds correct at 1735 BST (23/08/18)
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