Middlesbrough vs West Ham United
England Premier League
Date: Saturday, 21st January 2017
Kick-off at 15:00 UK/ 16:00 CET
Venue: Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough.
Middlesbrough could hand Patrick Bamford his second debut when they host West Ham United on Saturday.
Boro, who have the fourth best defence in the Premier League but have scored just 17 goals - a league low - have struggled to find the balance between attack and defence.
However, they are four points above the relegation zone and have won three of their last six home Premier League matches.
West Ham, who are in the midst of a transfer saga involving Dimitri Payet, are 10 points worse off than at this stage last season.
Slaven Bilic's side were dropping towards the bottom three after a run of three straight league defeats, but last weekend's 3-0 win over Crystal Palace has eased some of the pressure on the former Croatia boss.
Key Facts
Middlesbrough currently enjoys 3 competitive games unbeaten run, but have failed to get a win in their last 4 league games. In addition, Boro are the 4th worse home side in the league so far this season; gathering 11 points in their first 10 home game of the season.
West Ham went 3 games without scoring a goal before their 3-0 thrashing of crystal place last weekend. In addition, West ham has 2 wins in their last 10 league games away, losing out in 6.
Team News: Middlesbrough
Boro will be missing Antonio Barragan, and Gaston Ramirez due to injury. In addition, Middleborough Argentina born defender “Daniel Ayala” will also be missing due to game suspension; Daniel was sent off in Boro’s Emirate Fa Cup clash with Sheffield Wednesday.
Middlesbrough: Predicted Line-Up (3-1-4-2)
Valdes – Gibson, Chambers, Espinosa – De Roon – Friend, Forshaw, Leadbitter, Fabio – Stuani, Negredo.
Team News: West Ham
West Ham will be without the services of Kouyate and Andre Ayew to their participation in the on-going Africa cup of nations in Gabon. The hammers will also be without the services of Dimitri Payet, but will definitely not be missing him for this away visit to the Riverside.
West Ham: Predicted Line-Up (4-2-3-1)
Hennessey – Ward, Delaney, Dann, Tomkins – Ledley, McArthur – Puncheon, Cabaye, Townsend – Benteke
Middlesbrough Vs West Ham: Head-To-Head Stats
Middlesbrough and West ham shared point the first leg of this season two meetings. Both side met in England top flight league for the first time 7 years, and played out a 1-1 draw.
Moreover, in the last 10 competitive clash between both side, West ham has 5 wins compared to Middlesbrough 1. The hammers also enjoyed a 2-0 win in their last competitive game visit to the Riverside Stadium.
Middlesbrough vs West Ham: Prediction
West ham surprising performance last weekend will definitely lure many book makers to their side for this clash. However, Middlesbrough goal conceding rate at home vis-a-vis West Ham goal conceding rate away will be my bases for prediction.
Therefore, I will predict a 1-0 victory for Middlesbrough at the odds of 7.50 (13/2).
Middlesbrough vs West Ham: Bet Tips
Boro to win at 3/2 (2.50)
Under 2.5 goals at 3/5 (1.60).
