Middlesbrough go in search of a fourth straight win on Saturday afternoon.
Michael Carrick‘s side are set to host Blackburn Rovers at The Riverside Stadium. They will be aiming to close the gap to the play-off places with three more points here.
‘Boro go into the game 9th in the Championship table, five points adrift of the top six. That comes after wins over Norwich City, QPR, and Birmingham City in their last three outings.
By contract, Blackburn Rovers are 18th in the standings, just three points clear of the relegation zone. They have won just two of their last 19 Championship games.
That may mean this looks like being another opportunity for Middlesbrough to get a win on the board.
However, one pundit believes that may be a step too far for Carrick’s side this weekend.
Sam Parkin backs Blackurn Rovers to ‘nick something’
Given they are at home, and in the better form, Middlesbrough look as though they ought to be favourites for this game.
That would give them the chance to get revenge for a 2-1 defeat to Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park earlier this season.
However, after two wins already this week, Sam Parkin is not expecting them to make it three in seven days here.
Speaking in on the Championship Check-In Podcast’s latest predictions episode about this game, the former Millwall and Ipswich Town striker said:
“I’m going to go with the thought process that Middlesbrough beat Birmingham in the week, so therefore I don’t think they’re going to do a nine-point in three games haul. I’m going to go for Blackburn to nick something here, 1-1”
Draw would be disappointing for Middlesbrough
It is hard to imagine that this result would be anything other than a frustrating one for those of a ‘Boro persuasion.
This run of three consecutive wins in the lead up to Saturday’s game, has given them a hope of breaking into the play-offs.
But with a five-point deficit still remaining, and just nine games of the regular season still to play, there is little margin for error here.
As a result, even just a couple of points dropped, as Parkin predicts here, could be costly for Middlesbrough in the race for a top six spot.
That therefore, is something they will want to avoid. Indeed, with Blackburn Rovers coming into this one in such poor form, there will be an expectation on ‘Boro to get the win here.
Failure to do so will cause a fair amount of frustration, and is not something they will want to stew on over the international break.
With that in mind, it does feel rather important that Middlesbrough make it four wins from four on Saturday afternoon.