Brighton vs Middlesbrough Betting Tips

This is the biggest game of the season so far in this league with both teams tied on 43 points at the top going into it. Brighton remain unbeaten after two creditable draws in tough games on the road this week but it could have been so much better. Both Derby last weekend and in midweek QPR scored 88th minute goals to deny the Seagulls victory with both games ending 2-2.

That allowed Middlesbrough in to take top spot as they also overcame strong opposition with a 1-0 win over Burnley at the Riverside. That extended Boro’s unbeaten run to 5 matches in the league and they have won 4 of those games so they come into this one with confidence too.

The bookies are expecting this to be a low scoring game, based primarily on Middlesbrough’s excellent defensive record. The Teesiders haven’t conceded in any of their last 5 matches but 3 of those were at the Riverside and they did concede in 7 consecutive games on the road prior to that.

A defeat in this game would be far more damaging for Brighton given they are at home and it would pose the first serious question of their surprising promotion bid. Boro can afford to take a risk here in an attempt to deal a serious blow to the hopes of their closest rivals at the top. They are unlikely to throw complete caution to the wind but a victory would be huge and they will come with ambitions of winning this one so it could be more open than many are expecting.

Brighton have been scoring and conceding plenty of late. Both teams have scored in all of their last 6 Championship games and therefore odds of Evens for that to be the case again look good.

The Seagulls have passed every test that has been put in front of them so far in their incredible unbeaten run but they have tended to draw the big games rather than win them. No side in the Championship has drawn more games than Brighton’s record of 10 and this could well end up being another one.

Both teams have enough going forward to suggest they’ll be on target at some point but perhaps not more than once so consider backing this to finish 1-1 at 5/1.