Southampton v Middlesbrough

Southampton vs Middlesbrough Preview

Southampton captured a vital second win on the trot in the Championship to head into the international break sitting in fourth place following a 4-2 home win against Sunderland but a recent flurry of unexpected defeats for the south coast club means the hosts may have to settle for a play-off spot instead, while Middlesbrough extended their unbeaten run in the Championship to four games after being held to a 0-0 draw at home to Blackburn Rovers last time out.

Despite picking up back-to-back wins in recent weeks including a previous entertaining 4-3 victory away at Birmingham City, three defeats in quick succession beforehand have now placed Southampton's bid for automatic promotion in serious doubt as The Saints now trail the top two teams by a significant nine-point margin following recent disappointing defeats at the hands of Bristol City, Hull City and Millwall.

To make matters worse, Russell Martin's side lost all three of these games on home soil at their St Mary's Stadium so the prospects of a home win here against Middlesbrough are not so rosy as they would have been about a month ago.

However, we should expect a few goals to unfold here on Good Friday as eight of Southampton's last 10 games overall in the Championship have resulted in Over 2.5 goals being scored.

Middlesbrough are making another late bid for a play-off spot in this season's Championship campaign as Michael Carrick's side have put together a four-match unbeaten run which consists of three wins and a draw which will give the north-east visitors plenty of confidence as they prepare for this trip down to the south coast to take on Southampton.

Recent wins against Norwich City, QPR and Birmingham City have kept Boro in the frame for an outside chance of a possible top six finish this season as they trail sixth placed Norwich City by a seven-point margin ahead of this Easter schedule in the English second tier.

However, before we get too carried away with Middlesbrough's recent resurgence, it should be noted that Boro had previously managed to pick up just the one win from their preceding seven games beforehand which came in the shape of a 2-1 win away from home at Leicester City but they had also slipped to four defeats within this period as well.

Middlesbrough have produced some encouraging results away from home though in recent times as Boro have won five out of their last seven outings on the road whilst goals could also feature as six of Boro's last 10 away games have also produced three goals or more.

Southampton v Middlesbrough Verdict

Goals could indeed figure in this Good Friday clash as seven of the last eight meetings have resulted in Over 2.5 goals.

Therefore, our main bet will be Over 2.5 goals @ 1.50

Other side bets worth considering:

Draw @ 4.33

Correct Score: 2-2 @ 15.00