Middlesbrough vs Bolton Predictions

In his first full season in charge of Middlesbrough, Tony Pulis and his side have made a fantastic start to the campaign, however, they did lose their first match at the weekend against Norwich and will be looking to bounce back in this game.

Indeed, on Saturday, Middlesbrough fell to a Teemu Pukki goal in the second half to lose their first match in seven league games. The visitors did deserve to lose on the day, having significantly less possession of the ball than Norwich and far less shots. Given Norwich’s indifferent start to the season, Pulis would have been frustrated with how his side performed.

Despite this, Middlesbrough can be proud of the start they made before that. They have adhered to Pulis’ style of tight, compact football that is aimed at suppressing whatever attacks the opposition can throw at them. Consequently, Middlesbrough have the best defensive record in the league, with only three goals conceded in seven matches. The decision to play three at the back has worked well, as Aden Flint, Daniel Ayala and Dael Fry have gelled well together, whilst George Friend and Ryan Shotton have supported attacks.

The team has managed to hold Leeds to a goalless draw away from home, as well as beat promotion rivals Bristol City, West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield United comfortably and with cleans sheets at the end of the game.

However, the focus on defence has meant that Middlesbrough have struggled at times in attack, symbolic of a Pulis team. They have scored nine times, the joint-second lowest in the top half, with the other team being their opponents for this game, Bolton. Neither striker in Martin Braithwaite or Britt Assombalonga has got more than three goals and if they want to cement their promotion credentials further, they need to have a bit more going forward.

After a strong start to the campaign which exceeded everyone’s expectations, Bolton have struggled in their last three matches and could find themselves in the bottom half if they lose this match.

Bolton began this Championship campaign with a massive win away at West Bromwich Albion, who they beat 2-1 in arguably the biggest shock result of the opening weekend. They subsequently followed that up with a draw against a quality Bristol City side, whilst they beat relegation rivals Reading and Birmingham City consecutively to gain an important ten points from four matches.

The team have a distinct style of play, specialising in set-pieces and crosses into the box, which targetman Josh Magennis can either score from or knock it down for an oncoming midfielder to utilise. It has worked wonders for the team this season and has got them some crucial points and goals to build on from.

However, they have been suppressed effectively in recent matches. They were beaten 3-0 at home to Sheffield United, conceding twice in the first 25 minutes to leave them with a huge challenge on their hands. Since that defeat, they have drawn away at Preston, which can be considered another decent point, particularly as they came from two goals down to draw the game.

Although, the amount of goals Bolton are letting in at the moment must be a worry for Phil Parkinson, as they conceded another two goals to lose 2-1 at home to QPR, a team that had been struggling. They battled to the end and got a goal back through another goal by Magennis but they should not be losing games like that.

The positive is that the club avoided administration in the week and are at least secure off the field. Bolton have given themselves a real chance of staying in the league but need to be tighter at the back, otherwise they will be sucked into another relegation fight.

Indeed, we think it will be another tough day at the office for Bolton in this game. Middlesbrough are simply unstoppable at home and will set up the team to resist any Bolton attack. However, Middlesbrough may need some time in this game to get back into the goalscoring habit, so backing them to win with Under 2.5 Goals could be a smart bet, with a 2-0 correct score-line appropriate for what should be a comprehensive victory.