Manchester City will by trying to hang onto their share of first place in the English Premier League again this Saturday, November 5th when they host newly-promoted Middlesbrough at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester. City finally got back on track last weekend with a road victory over West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League last weekend and then an impressive triumph over Barcelona in the European Champions League at home on Tuesday. Middlesbrough is coming off a 2-0 home league win over Bournemouth last weekend.
Manchester City vs Middlesbrough – 5Dimes Soccer Betting Line:
- 5Dimes currently lists Man City as the favorites to win the game at -411 with Middlesbrough +1390 and a draw at +578
Manchester City vs Middlesbrough – Head to Head:
- These two clubs last met in January of last year in an FA Cup game with Middlesbrough winning 2-1 in Manchester. Their previous meeting was five years earlier in another FA Cup clash with Man City winning 1-0 away. City has five wins, four losses and a draw in the last 10 meetings. Middlesbrough has 16 wins in the last 27 games with five draws and just six losses. Their last league meeting was in February of 2009 with Man City winning 1-0 at home. Middlesbrough won their home game 2-0 that season and beat City 8-1 at home in May of 2008. Overall, these two sides have met 126 times in the past with Man City winning 50, losing 49 and drawing the other 27.
Manchester City – A Closer Look:
Manchester City finally snapped their six-game winless streak in all competitions last weekend with an emphatic 4-0 road win over West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns in Premier League action. They had dropped seven points in their three previous league games with a loss and pair of home draws and were beaten 1-0 by Manchester United in the League Cup in midweek. City still manages to hang onto a share of first place in the standings with 23 points from seven wins, two draws and a defeat. They’ve scored a league-high 24 goals, along with Liverpool and have allowed nine against. They’re tied on points with Liverpool and Arsenal, but sit on top of the standings due to a better goal difference.
City has five wins, three losses and three draws in their past 11 outings in all competitions and had just two goals in their five matches overall until breaking out against West Brom. City then made it two wins in a row with an impressive 4-1 home win over reigning Spanish champions Barcelona in the Champions League. Manager Pep Guardiola will likely be without injured defender Bacary Sagna for Tuesday’s match as he isn’t expected back until mid-November, but forward Kevin De Bruyne is back in the lineup. City has three wins and two draws in five leaguer home games this season, but is winless in two with a pair of draws.
Middlesbrough – A Closer Look:
Newly-promoted Middlesbrough sits in 15th place in the standings with two wins, four draws and four losses for 10 points. They’ve scored nine goals and allowed 11 against. They’re unbeaten in the past two matches as they beat Bournemouth 2-0 at home last weekend. Middlesbrough has a win, loss and three draws on the road this season, but is winless in the last four with three draws and a defeat. They enter the game 13 points behind the league leaders and are just three ahead of newly-promoted Hull City and the relegation zone.
Midfielders Stewart Downing and Gaston Ramires scored the goals against Bournemouth last week. Manager Aitor Karanka saw the three points finally snap his side’s seven-match winless streak as they hadn’t won a game since the second week of the season. It was also their first home victory this campaign and they’ve now kept two straight clean sheets. Karanka appears to have a healthy squad to choose from since there’s nobody named on the team’s injury list.
Manchester City vs Middlesbrough – Takeaway:
Historically, Middlesbrough has given Man City a lot of trouble over the years. City seems to be back on track though after two straight wins and need all three points here to hang onto first place. Middlesbrough will be happy with a draw and to stay out of the relegation zone this season.
by Ian S. Palmer
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