Middlesbrough vs Southampton Predictions

• Both teams have scored in three of the last four Middlesbrough matches
• Both teams have scored in the last five Southampton games
• Southampton have won seven and drawn two of their last nine Championship away games

Whittaker worth a wager

Middlesbrough and Southampton finished the 46-game Championship slog in good form and should produce an entertaining first leg of their play-off semi-final on Saturday. Boro blitzed Watford 5-1 in their last home game but couldn’t quite make the push for an automatic promotion berth on the final day of the campaign when they drew 2-2 at Wrexham.

Goals are clearly not a problem right now for Kim Hellberg’s side with Morgan Whittaker back to full fitness and firing on all cylinders. The ex-Derby star has scored 14 league goals this term with each of his last seven coming at the Riverside Stadium.

Whittaker is worth a wager to bag again when he comes up against a Saints side that have kept only one clean sheet in their last nine games in all competitions. Toda Eckert’s men have scored an impressive 22 goals across those fixtures, including multiple goals in eight of them.

Saints are value to steal first-leg lead

Backing both teams to score is the main recommendation for this first leg, which could be more cagey than some of these clubs’ recent league outings. But Southampton are also value to win the game in 90 minutes given their recent away run, which has seen them win seven and draw two of their last nine Championship trips.

Saints can nick a 2-1 road win against a Boro side that have been guilty of missing too many chances in the second half of the campaign.