With a place at Wembley at stake, Southampton and Middlesbrough will lock horns on the South Coast this week in the second leg of their Championship play-off semi-final.
The Saints enter this game on a tear, losing just one of their last 24 games, which was against Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final. They've won seven of their last ten games and on home soil, they've won six of their last eight.
Southampton are one of the most consistently entertaining sides in the division, with over 2.5 goals being scored in 90% of their last ten games. Similarly, BTTS has occurred in 80% of their last ten outings.
The Saints have their fair share of attacking talent, and Cyle Larin is in good goalscoring form, scoring three times in his last five games and five goals in his last nine.
Given just how strong their form has been, Southampton will be confident about getting the job done in front of their own fans.
Middlesbrough will be kicking themselves at what they'll feel was a missed opportunity last week. Boro were the dominant side at the Riverside but were unable to convert their dominance into goals, such has been their story this season.
They now have to head to one of the trickiest venues in the division and come away with a win, and given they've won only twice in their last 11 outings, the odds aren't in their favour. Boro have been missing star man Hayden Hackney for a number of weeks and their side has suffered as a consequence.
60% of Boro's last ten games have seen BTTS occur, while 50% of their last ten have seen over 2.5 goals scored. Boro never set up to play conservatively under Kim Hellberg, so this should be an open game.
However, it's hard to see past Southampton getting over the line on home soil, so we fancy them to win what should be an entertaining game.
Southampton 2-1 Middlesbrough
