Aston Villa vs Middlesbrough Predictions

There’s a big clash in the Championship on Saturday, as Aston Villa look to make a move in the playoff fight. They are going up against Middlesbrough who are currently fifth in the table. However, Boro have gone from certainties in the top six race to being left with questions over their chances. They were eliminated from the playoffs by Villa last season, so can the Villains strike another blow to their promotion hopes?

The hosts continued the Jack Grealish resurgence as they won again in midweek. They secured a third straight win after seeing off Nottingham Forest away from home. A 3-1 win showed that their scoring edge is back now, and suddenly Villa are back in the top eight. They sit just two points shy of sixth, and they’ve closed to within four points of sixth place.

Middlesbrough are in trouble following a 2-1 loss to Preston in midweek. They came up short against another playoff contender, and suddenly Boro could be dragged into the fight to secure a playoff place. The visitors haven’t been all that impressive in the league this season. They’ve failed to show the real steel that we expect from Tony Pulis in recent games, while they’ve scored the fewest goals of any top half side, clocking in 25 goals short of Aston Villa. Pulis has seen his team left limited by his options in attack, which isn’t a problem the hosts are dealing with.

The hosts have added eight goals to their tally across three games, having scored less than a goal per game while Grealish was out. He’s set to kick them on again this weekend, as the Villains look to follow up a 3-0 win at Middlesbrough back in December. Doing that to the league’s strongest defence shows what Villa are capable of on their day. They come into this one in fine form, but will they see off Boro?

We can only side with Villa here, given their recent winning streak. They come into this game showing some brilliant form of late, which could take them into sixth this weekend. The hosts have scored 2.2 goals per game at home, while they face a Boro side who have lost back to back home games. We expect the visitors to struggle again here, so we’re backing an Aston Villa win, a result which looks well priced going into this clash. On top of that, we see the Villains securing a 2-1 victory on Saturday.