Championship 
Stoke City will be aiming to leap out of the relegation zone of the Sky Bet Championship as they are set to host Middlesbrough at the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts currently find themselves in 22nd place in the Championship table after gaining 35 points from their 34 league games so far this campaign. In what is a very congested bottom half of the table, a win this weekend could see Stoke rise as high as 18th position.
The Potters are in a rotten run of form heading into this weekend’s game and they have only won one of their last seven league games, of which they have lost the other six. A lack of goals has cost Stoke in recent weeks as they have only netted four times in their last seven games.
In their last league outing, Stoke were defeated once again as Cardiff City came out on top 2-1 of a tight game. Etete and Grant scored first-half goals for the Bluebirds, while Stoke's Bae Jun-ho netted a consolation. Despite second-half pressure, Stoke fell into the relegation zone.
Following a disappointing run of results, Middlesbrough currently find themselves in 13th position in the league table after gaining 44 points from their 33 league games this season. Boro look destined for another season in the Championship as they are currently 11 points behind the playoff places and 9 points above the relegation zone.
Last weekend, Middlesbrough recorded a disappointing 2-0 loss against Plymouth Argyle who were on a bad run of form heading into the game. Sorinola's early strike and Hardie's first-half goal put Plymouth in control. Despite creating chances, Boro couldn't find a way through, extending their winless home run in the Championship.
The fixture of Stoke vs Middlesbrough has a long and storied history, with the two sides having first met in 1902 in the League Division One. In total, these two sides have met on 105 occasions, with Middlesbrough having the better record, winning 43, compared to Stoke’s 37.
It was Stoke who recorded a comfortable 2-0 victory when these sides met earlier on in the season at The Riverside Stadium. Michael Rose opened the scoring with a header early on, and Mehdi Léris added a second before halftime. Despite pressure in the second half, Middlesbrough couldn't find a way back, handing Stoke their third consecutive win.
These sides are fairly evenly matched at the bookies ahead of this weekend, however it is Middlesbrough who are narrowly favoured and are currently priced @ 6/4, whilst a home win for Stoke is priced @ 17/10 and a draw is @ 12/5.
We are backing a draw and both teams to score because this fixture has proven to be a tight affair in recent years which often results in draws. In the last five meetings between the two sides, three of the games have finished in draws with both teams having scored in two.