Middlesbrough travel to strugglers Stoke City on Saturday afternoon and Sky Sports pundit David Prutton has issued his prediction ahead of the fixture.
Middlesbrough’s form in the Championship has taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks having secured just one victory in their last six matches.
Although that win did come against table-topping Leicester City, Michael Carrick’s side have dropped points against the likes of Rotherham United and Bristol City.
Boro have essentially waved goodbye to their hopes of reaching the play-offs, as they are currently 11 points behind sixth-place Hull City, though they’ll want to avoid being dragged into a relegation scrap.
The Teessiders are currently nine points above Stoke City, the side occupying the final relegation spot – and that is the team they face on Saturday afternoon.
Much like Boro, Stoke are in dreadful form themselves having lost six of their last seven matches, with their only win during that run coming against Queens Park Rangers.
David Prutton predicts Middlesbrough to beat Stoke City
Despite being convincingly beaten by Plymouth Argyle last time out, David Prutton believes that Carrick’s side can come away from the bet365 stadium with all three points, although he did mention how it is a chance for the hosts.
Writing his prediction ahead of Saturday’s clash, Prutton wrote: “It is all going wrong for Stoke City. They have sunk into the bottom three and morale feels really low at the bet365 Stadium. You wonder if Steven Schumacher quite realised what he was walking into.
“But they face a Middlesbrough side who aren’t in much form themselves. They’ve picked up just one win in six – albeit at Leicester! – and are meandering in mid-table. It is a chance for the Potters and one they need to take. But I think Boro will sneak this.”
Prutton predicts Stoke City 0-2 Middlesbrough
A must win for Middlesbrough
After losing a whole host of talented players in the summer, this was always going to be a transitional season for Boro, who are already looking towards the next transfer window to bolster their squad.
That said, it is vitally important they take advantage of Stoke’s dire situation by pushing them further into danger while making up ground on the sides above them.
Of course, coming away with all three points won’t be easy as the North East side haven’t won there since June 2020, but this is a fantastic opportunity and Carrick will know it.
He will send out his players with the onus of dominating possession and getting at Steven Schumacher’s men from minute one.
An early goal for either side in this contest will be pivotal, but especially for Boro, as they’ll know the home crowd will soon get on their player’s backs and they will be able to feed off it.
With the visitors looking to attack from minute one, Carrick could choose to unleash Emmanuel Latte Lath, who hasn’t started a Championship match since December after suffering from injury.