Cardiff City vs Middlesbrough: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

Cardiff have endured a poor start to the campaign, whilst Middlesbrough have enjoyed a win and a draw in their first three. We expect Cardiff’s woes to continue at home with a comfortable Boro victory.

Middlesbrough have won three games in a row against Cardiff, with the Bluebirds failing to keep a clean sheet in their last nine attempts against Michael Carrick’s side. The away side have been the first to score in this fixture in five of the previous six, and six of the last eight overall.

There should be goals in this one with the Over 2.5 market landing in three of the previous four meetings. Middlesbrough have scored at least three goals in two of the previous three meetings. This is a trend we are backing to continue – Cardiff 1-3 Middlesbrough

Cardiff welcome Middlesbrough to the Cardiff City Stadium, still looking for their first win of the Championship season.

Date: 31/08/24

Kick-off time: 12:30

Venue: Cardiff City Stadium

It has been a dreadful start to the campaign for Cardiff, as they find themselves bottom of the table after three games. However, they did pick up their first point last time out in the South Wales Derby against Swansea. Prior to this, they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Sunderland on the opening weekend, before being crushed 5-0 at Burnley. They now face a tough game at home to Middlesbrough, though they will hope they can carry the momentum gained from their late equaliser at their rivals into this one.

Middlesbrough, on the other hand, have endured a mixed start, with a win, draw and loss. Their last game was a 2-2 draw at Portsmouth, in which they came from behind twice to salvage a point, including a 90th minute leveller.

This fixture should provide goals, especially with the Cardiff defence looking so vulnerable. They held Swansea to just one goal at the weekend, but had allowed seven in the previous two. This should give Michael Carrick’s side plenty of confidence in getting back on track with three points. Emmanuel Latte Lath was the club’s top scorer last season with 16, and will be hoping to add to his single goal scored so far.

Defensively, Boro have let in just three goals, and will expect more success against an attack who have really struggled. It was a similar story last year, as they scored 53 across the season. No player managed to find the back of the net more than six times. New loan signing Wilfried Kanga will look to get off the mark in the league as he looks to build on season in which he scored 12 goals for Belgian side Standard Liege. He has started the last two games after coming off the bench in the opener.

Since 2020, these two sides have faced off nine times in the Championship. Middlesbrough have been the more dominant team in recent seasons, winning five of these meetings and losing just twice. This includes a current run of three consecutive victories for Boro, with Cardiff winning just once in the last six, this coming in September of 2023, when they won 3-2 away from home. Last season, the visitors did the double, winning 4-1 at the Cardiff City Stadium, and 2-0 at home. In the away fixture, all of the goals came in the second half, with Matthew Clarke, Finn Isaac Azaz, Emmanuel Latte Lath and Alex Gilbert all scoring before Josh Bowler netted a late consolation.

Cardiff City vs Middlesbrough will be available to watch on Sky Sports+.

Cardiff

Defender Ryotaro Tsunoda remains out as he recovers from an injury sustained during the summer. Kion Etete and Isaak Davies are also absent.

Middlesbrough

Darragh Lenihan and Dael Fry have not played yet this season due to injury and their availability remains in doubt for this weekend. Jonny Howson picked up a hamstring injury in their EFL Cup win, which could leave him sidelined for an extended period of time. Midfielder Riley McGree could make a return.

Cardiff:

In their last five games, Cardiff have won two, lost two and drawn one. It was a strong end to pre-season for Cardiff with a 2-0 win against Bristol Rovers, but they began their Championship season with a 2-0 defeat on the opening day to Sunderland. It was a fairly even affair, but they could not take advantage of their opportunities whilst their opponents did. Goals from Luke O’Nien and Jack Clarke in each half condemned them to a loss.

Their campaign continued in the first round of the EFL Cup, getting back on track with a 2-0 win over Bristol Rovers. Both goals came in the second half, the first scored by Mark McGuinness, before Rubin Colwill put the game to bed in stoppage time. Their second league game was a tricky trip to Burnley, and they fell to a crushing 5-0 defeat.

A return to league action against rivals Swansea saw them draw 1-1 in their most recent game. They fell behind early on to a Liam Cullen goal, but managed to come away with a point thanks to a Callum Robinson equaliser with 11 minutes to go.

Middlesbrough:

In their last five games, Middlesbrough have won three, drawn one and lost one. Boro ended their pre-season on a high, with a 1-0 win over Heerenveen. They continued this form into their first game of the campaign, as they beat Swansea at home by the same scoreline. Emmanuel Latte Lath’s 25th minute penalty was the slim difference between the two sides, though the hosts managed to prevent their opponent from registering a shot on target.

Focus shifted to the EFL Cup, where they advanced comfortably to the second round with an impressive 3-0 victory over Leeds. Anfernee Dijksteel, Delano Burgzorg and Josh Coburn were the scorers.

They then suffered their first defeat of the campaign as they were beaten 1-0 by Derby. Kayden Jackson’s 14th minute strike condemned them to a loss. Last time out, they hosted Portsmouth and drew 2-2 thanks to an equaliser at the death. Matthew Clarke scored an equaliser for Boro either side of a Christian Saydee brace, before Tommy Conway converted from the spot in the 90th minute.

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