Championship promotion contenders Middlesbrough and West Bromwich Albion meet at the Riverside Stadium on Friday night.
The match not only pits the team with the division’s best defensive record with the freest-scoring outfit, but it also sees Tony Pulis face his old club for the first time since his December departure.
Pulis won promotion with Stoke in his last full season at this level and is 15/8 (2.88) with bet365 to reach the Premier League again this term, while West Brom are 2/1 (3.0) to go up.
Latest odds
Middlesbrough are 13/10 (2.30) to record their fourth league victory of the campaign, which would see them go top of the table at least until Leeds kick-off at Norwich on Saturday.
The visitors are 21/10 (3.1) to win a third league game on the bounce and they will certainly not be short on confidence after last week’s 7-1 demolition of QPR.
Darren Moore though is likely to employ a more conservative strategy akin to the one we saw in the 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest earlier this month and another tie is 9/4 (3.25).
Team News
The Baggies have a clean bill of health, so the dilemma for Moore is whether to name an unchanged side to discover some tactical consistency or acknowledge the step up in opposition by making one or two defensive tweaks.
Daniel Ayala is pushing for a start after making the substitute’s bench in Boro’s 2-0 win at Bristol City, but centre-backs Dael Fry and Aden Flint are unlikely to be dropped after helping the team record three consecutive wins to nil.
Stalemate in store?
Against a Pulis side, West Brom will certainly not be able to steam through as effortlessly as they did against QPR.
Equally, Boro create the bulk of their chances through route one football and set pieces, but Baggies centre-backs Ahmed Hegazi and Kyle Bartley are sufficiently strong aerially to deal with that type of approach play.
Although both teams are more than capable of threatening in scenarios that suit them, we could see a stalemate here. For those keen on exact score plays, the 17/2 (9.5) on a 0-0 draw looks appealing.
Preview and predictions
Our best bet is the 12/5 (3.40) on under 1.5 goals, which will land if the game finishes goalless as suggested above, but gives us an element of insurance should either side manage to find a winner in what could be a very tight encounter.
Odds correct at the time of writing. Please gamble responsibly.
Under 1.5 goals 12/5 (3.4) with bet365
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