Middlesbrough v Millwall

Middlesbrough vs Millwall Preview

Middlesbrough suffered heartbreak in the play-offs at the end of last season's Championship campaign after achieving a fourth-place finish in the English second tier under manager, Michael Carrick, but Boro will be hoping they can go at least one step better this time around, starting with this upcoming opening game of the season against Millwall at the Riverside Stadium.

Middlesbrough ended the regular season a significant 16 points behind second-placed Sheffield United but nevertheless, Boro will still be kicking themselves for letting the feet off the pedals as the hosts failed to win any of their last three games of the season while the bigger picture shows Middlesbrough gained only two wins in their final 10 games of the season overall.

Comprehensive home wins against Norwich City 5-1 and Hull City 3-1 were outweighed by being handed five defeats as well, with the most damaging loss of all being the 1-0 defeat at home to Coventry City in the 2nd leg of their play-off semi-final clash at the Riverside Stadium.

Despite their disappointment, Middlesbrough can still point to the fact that they lost just one of their last 15 home games of the regular season and included a 1-0 home win over Millwall.

Onto Millwall then and Gary Rowett's side narrowly missed out on achieving a place in the play-offs after suffering a heartbreaking 4-3 defeat at home to Blackburn Rovers on the final day of last season.

Both Millwall and Blackburn Rovers ultimately missed out on a top six finish but Millwall will be determined to keep going until the very end of the season this time around after managing to capture just two wins from their final nine games of last season's campaign.

Victories against Preston NE and Blackpool were outweighed by no fewer than five defeats during this dismal season run-in which included losses to Huddersfield Town, Hull City, Birmingham City, Wigan Athletic and Blackburn Rovers.

The goals market therefore appeals in this one (or rather, lack of goals) as six of Millwall's last 10 away games resulted in Under 2.5 goals along with previous history of low-scoring encounters with their upcoming hosts, Middlesbrough, as well.

Middlesbrough v Millwall Verdict

Middlesbrough recorded a 1-0 home win over Millwall in their last meeting but this has been Boro's only success over The Lions in recent times, winning just once in the previous five meetings against their London visitors.

Interestingly, each of the last five meetings between Middlesbrough and Millwall have ended in low-scoring affairs and this trend looks set to continue at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday afternoon as both teams look to shake off the early season rust.

Therefore, our main bet will be Under 2.5 goals @ 1.90

Other side bets worth considering:

Millwall win @ 4.20

Correct score: Millwall 1-0 @ 12.00