The bottom two teams in the Premier League meet on Wednesday night in what is a must win game for both sides. Neither Middlesbrough or Sunderland can afford to come away from this match with anything less than maximum points, if they are to stay in the Premier League.
The statistics don’t lie and this is a game between the two worst teams in the Premier League this season and if you want to see a free-flowing game of football, with plenty of goals, this is probably not the match for you.
Middlesbrough vs. Sunderland
English Premier League – Wednesday 26th April 2017 – 8:45pm
|
x DrawBest Odd of: 12/5 at Betsafe |
|
Middlesbrough Recent Form
Middlesbrough have been struggling for some time and come into this match placed 19th in the Premier League table. Steve Agnew’s team have claimed 24 points from their 33 games played, which leaves them 7 points behind Hull City, the team currently in 17th position.
If Middlesbrough look down the league table, it will only take them a second to reach the bottom, as there is one club behind them and that club is their opponents, Sunderland. The Black Cats have recorded 21 points from their 32 league games, which leaves them propping up the Premier League. David Moyes’ team have two games in hand on Hull City but even if they win both, which seems unlikely at this stage, they will still be 6 points adrift of safety.
Mentally, the players must really be struggling at the Riverside Stadium as Middlesbrough have failed to record a single victory in their previous 16 Premier League games. Their only success has come in the FA Cup and you must go back to their 3-0 home win over Swansea City to find their last league triumph, which was in December.
A longer look back into Middlesbrough’s results does not improve things and they have won only 7 of their last 42 games in all competitions, which is an incredibly poor record.
Sunderland Recent Form
Sunderland’s form is just as bad and they have recorded only 5 wins in their previous 33 Premier League games. The Black Cats have won just 1 of their previous 17 games in all competitions and the players must be bereft of confidence at the Stadium of Light.
Looking at Sunderland’s away form and things do not improve as they have won 4 of their last 26 games on the road in all competitions and just 1 in the previous 10.
Neither team have enjoyed themselves in-front of goal in the Premier League this season, with Middlesbrough scoring 23 times and Sunderland finding the back of the net 26 times. The next lowest total in the league is Burnley, who scored 7 goals more than Sunderland.
Relegation Battle Will Not Be Pretty
Looking at the team news and Gaston Ramirez is suspended for Middlesbrough, with Victor Valdes, Grant Leadbitter and Marten de Roon rated as doubtful. Sunderland must make do without the suspended Sebastian Larsson and injured Paddy McNair, Duncan Watmore, Jan Kirchhoff and Bryan Oviedo.
There are several potential bets on this game, including under 1.5 goals at 9/4 with Ladbrokes. You can also back both teams to score ‘no’ at Evens with Skybet. The 0-0 final score market is also very tempting given the statistics of the two teams and you can get 17/2 with Ladbrokes for the match to finish without a goal.