Middlesbrough vs Liverpool Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Middlesbrough went back to losing ways on Sunday as Southampton beat them 1-0 in an edgy encounter at St. Mary’s Stadium, but they do have a lot of reasons to be optimistic about their hosting of Liverpool.

The hosts have actually performed really well against the top teams in the Premier League, with draws against Arsenal, Manchester City, and Leicester away from home and a narrow 1-0 home defeat to the rampant Chelsea. They haven’t actually been comfortably beaten since Everton won 3-1 back in September.

Middlesbrough haven’t quite found the formula for winning consistently just yet, but their defence knows how to shut out the opposition attack. They have only lost two of their last seven Premier League games and have conceded just five goals in this period. This includes games against three of the four highest scoring teams in the league.

Liverpool suffered another setback in their hunt for a long awaited Premier League trophy on Sunday as well, with the out of form West Ham holding them to a 2-2 draw at Anfield. This came a week after they relinquished a two goal lead to lose 4-3 away to Bournemouth. They have now slipped six points adrift of league leaders Chelsea.

They have still scored more than any other team in the league though, so this will be the ultimate test of Middlesbrough’s defensive resilience. The visitors have scored 19 goals in their last seven games and have averaged just under 2.5 goals per game so far this season. Away from home that average does drop, but not by much.

Middlesbrough will feel like they have the opportunity to get something from this game, and even if Liverpool manage to break their defence the quality of Liverpool’s own back line has been far below par this season. They have conceded more goals away from home than any other team in the top half of the Premier League.

This means it’s unlikely to end in a comfortable Middlesbrough defeat here, and I think they have a real chance of taking advantage of Liverpool’s recent poor showings and getting a point or three. Liverpool have shown they struggle to beat this sort of tier opposition in defeats to both Burnley and Bournemouth away from home. I’m backing a Middlesbrough +1.0 Asian Handicap Win alongside a 2-2 correct score predictions at 18/1.