Championship: Middlesbrough vs Portsmouth – Betting preview

Ace Football previews the Championship round 42 match between Middlesbrough and Portsmouth and offers team stats, betting tips and the latest odds.

Despite a rather curious form recently, Middlesbrough have a good opportunity to be victorious in round 42 of the Championship season. They meet Portsmouth on Saturday at the Riverside Stadium, where they hope to frustrate the visitors.

Sitting two places behind the top of the table, Middlesbrough claimed 72 points after 41 rounds. Meanwhile, Portsmouth amassed 42 points and rank as number 21 in the Championship at the moment.

Form: Middlesbrough vs Portsmouth

Middlesbrough Form

Middlesbrough are without a win from their previous three outings, as Blackburn managed a draw, before they lost 1-2 against Millwall. Their latest match ended in a 2-2 draw with Swansea. Middlesbrough just have a single home win to show from their efforts in the past six Championship matches at the Riverside Stadium. They also drew three and lost two of these six encounters, in which they scored four and conceded five goals.

Portsmouth Form

Portsmouth came through the last three games without a win, but still managed to record two draws in this run. They lost 6-1 against Queens Park Rangers, followed by a 1-1 draw with Norwich. In their last match, they finished even 2-2 against Oxford. Portsmouth won twice, while also recording two draws, and two defeats in their last six away matches in the Championship. The scoreline from these matches says 12 goals conceded and ten scored.

Betting facts for Middlesbrough and Portsmouth

Here are some facts that might be useful for placing bets on the upcoming game between Middlesbrough and Portsmouth. The facts are based on the statistics from the last couple of matches that these teams played across all tournaments.

Players on top: Middlesbrough vs Portsmouth

While only scoring two goals in his last six outings for Middlesbrough, Tommy Conway has been good for them over the course of the season with nine goals to his name so far. He should be highly motivated to expand of his tally against Portsmouth, and he looks well worth a place in an accumulator on Saturday, depending on your betting strategy.

Popular markets: Middlesbrough vs Portsmouth

Full-time result

Middlesbrough won three of their previous 10 matches across all tournaments at Riverside Stadium. They drew four and lost three as well, while Portsmouth won three of their last 10 games away. They drew three and lost four. Amazingly, Portsmouth failed to keep a clean sheet in their last 12 matches. Portsmouth have not lost to Middlesbrough in 4 consecutive home meetings.

Both teams to score

Middlesbrough scored the first goal of the match in five of their previous ten games. Portsmouth scored the opening goal in four of a possible ten games. Both teams have scored in the last 6 consecutive away games Portsmouth played. Middlesbrough will be optimistic of getting on the scoresheet this coming Saturday, as Portsmouth have been unable to keep a single clean sheet in their last 10 games. The former fought their way to three clean sheets in their last 10 games. Portsmouth have scored in 4 consecutive meetings with Middlesbrough when playing at away ground.

Total goals

Over 2.5 goals came out five times in the previous ten matches across all tournaments for Middlesbrough, who scored an average of 1.3 goals along the way. In the last ten games for Portsmouth, six of them had more than 2.5 goals, and they scored an average of 1.3 times goals per game themselves. Portsmouth conceded a goal in their last 12 matches.