Middlesbrough vs Stoke Prediction 14.03.2023

• Competition: Championship
• Date: 14.03.2023
• Kickoff: 20:00 UTC / 21:00 CET
• Venue: Riverside Stadium (Middlesbrough)

With the arrival of Michael Carrick on the Middlesbrough bench at the end of October, things started to get better for this club. With a series of fantastic results, this club is once again living the dream of returning to the Premier League, for the first time in 6 years. The most realistic thing is that they try to win it through the playoffs, although due to the bad results of Sheffield Utd in recent weeks, there is also a chance to attack the second position in the table, which brings direct promotion. Middlesbrough is currently the third-placed team in the table with 63 points, only 4 less than the second-placed Sheffield Utd. In the last 8 games in the league, they won even 7, and they showed that they are very serious in their intentions with a routine 3:1 victory in the last round on the road against Swansea.

On the other side, Stoke City is playing another below-average season, at the level of the last 4 since relegation from the Premier League in 2017/18. The former stable Premier League team has never managed to make a breakthrough in recent seasons and it seems that there will be no progress in the coming years. They currently occupy the 14th position in the Championship table with 46 points, and by winning 3 of the last 4 games played, they managed to somewhat extinguish the fire in the club.

Middlesbrough vs Stoke pick: MIDDLESBROUGH TO WIN

Since the appointment of Michael Carrick as manager, Middlesbrough has been a really punishing expedition, especially at home. In 9 games played in the Championship at the Riverside Stadium with the new coach, Middlesbrough recorded as many as 8 wins and one draw, with a fantastic goal difference of 21:4. I really don't know what Carrick did to his players, but this is a completely different team compared to the one at the beginning of the season. It would be really crazy to bet against a team like this, although Stoke is not a team to underestimate. However, in order to remain undefeated, the visitors would have to play the best match of the season and be lucky, and I think the chances of that are very small.