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Kick off: Tuesday, 1 December @19:45 GMT
Venue: Riverside Stadium (Middlesbrough)
Head to head record
Everton vs Middlesbrough 2-1 (2008/2009 FA Cup)
Middlesbrough vs Everton 0-1 (2008/2009 Premier League)
Everton vs Middlesbrough 1-1 (2008/2009 Premier League)
Middlesbrough vs Everton 0-2 (2007/2008 Premier League)
Everton vs Middlesbrough 2-0 (2007/2008 Premier League)
Middlesbrough vs Everton prediction
The Capital One Cup quarter-finals get on the way with Middlesbrough hosting Everton in Tuesday night’s fixture. Aitor Karanka’s side await the Toffees after a morale boosting win away at Huddersfield (2-0). The Blues will try to move one step closer to Wembley after a harsh lesson on focus at Bournemouth on Saturday (3-3). It’s Basque Country versus Catalonia in the dugouts at the Riverside Stadium where Karanka will try to outsmart his countryman Roberto Martinez.
A tough nut to crack at home
The Smoggies are having a pretty good season, being second in the Championship and trailing just two points behind leaders Brighton. The current form gives Aitor Karanka’s men firm grounds they could go all the way this season and get back to the Premier League. Additionally, Boro managed to defeat Manchester United in the previous fixture of the Cup with a penalty shoot-out at Old Trafford a month ago. A lot of credit for their current status goes to Roberto Martinez, since Aitor Karanka stated that his team would not be so good if it weren’t for Roberto’s advice.
Middlesbrough lost only one of their ten home games this season, conceding only two goals, with a goal difference 19-2 in all competitions, which brings us to a conclusion that they are a tough nut to crack on home ground. Nevertheless, the Smoggies played only one game with a Premier League team so far, but the win against the Red Devils gives Karanka’s side a reasonable hope they could claim yet another scalp from a top flight side.
Boro will be without Tomas Kalas, Rhys Williams, Damia Abella and Alex Baptiste through injury, but the rest of the team is at Karanka’s disposal.
A difficult ride through the Capital One Cup
Even though Everton has reached the quarter-finals, Roberto Martinez cannot say that his squad is doing well in Capital One Cup this season. After trailing 2-0 behind Barnsley, they managed to score a victory in extra-time (5-3); coming from 1-0 down to 2-1 victory at Reading and defeating Norwich on penalties at Goodison Park after being behind 1-0. This is why the Toffees needs to take this match seriously if they plan to advance to the semi-finals. Additionally, the Premier League draw with Bournemouth last weekend came as a shock to the People’s Club, since they were on a 2-0 lead ten minutes before the end of the match.
Still, Everton is on a five-match unbeaten run, and Martinez will most certainly rely on his star attacker Romelu Lukaku, who scored 12 goals in his last 19 appearances. Hopefully, he did not reveal all his cards to his friend Karanka, and still has an ace up his sleeve. The Blues have won their last two matches at Riverside Stadium and haven’t lost against Boro since October 2006.
Everton are likely to be without James McCarthy after his injury against Bournemouth, Gareth Barry is doubtful, though Leighton Baines could be in line to make his first appearance of the campaign.
Middlesbrough vs Everton betting tip
In their previous fifteen matches we did not see more than two goals per game, if we exclude Middlesbrough’s 2-1 win in 2006. Bearing in mind the significance of this fixture for both teams, I do not believe that the opponents will go storming to attack, so chances are that we will not see a lot goals yet again.
Watch Middlesbrough vs Everton Live Stream
Tip: Under 2.5 goals
Odds: 1.80 (4/5) @10Bet
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