Middlesbrough vs Charlton Prediction

How both sides have been playing

Middlesbrough's recent sample covers twenty matches across the league, League Cup and friendlies, and they've won eight of those while scoring more than they've conceded.

Middlesbrough: 20 completed matches; Charlton: 20 completed matches.

Middlesbrough

20 matches

Win

40% 8 / 20

Draw

35% 7 / 20

Loss

25% 5 / 20

Scored

34

Conceded

29

Difference

+5

Charlton

20 matches

Win

40% 8 / 20

Draw

25% 5 / 20

Loss

35% 7 / 20

Scored

21

Conceded

29

Difference

-8

Charlton's equivalent sample is also wins and losses spread across competitions, and they've lost seven of their twenty, which is the more worrying figure in the pair. Their draw and win counts are close to Boro's, but the losses stand out.

Neither record is purely league form, so treat both as a general form guide rather than a precise league table reflection.

Comparative Team Statistics: Middlesbrough vs Charlton

Recent meetings between the two

The last two league meetings both went to the away side. Charlton won 1-0 at Middlesbrough back in March, and Boro won 2-1 at Charlton the previous December.

Go further back and the head-to-head has swung around over the years, with wins for both sides at various points. None of that older history tells us much about how either team is playing right now.

Two away wins in the last two meetings is a pattern worth flagging, even if it's a small sample.

Where they sit in the table

Eight games into the league campaign, Middlesbrough are third with fifteen points from four wins, three draws and a single loss.

Charlton are down in ninth with twelve points, having won three, drawn three and lost two. It's a three point gap after eight games, not a huge one, but Boro's underlying numbers—more goals scored, fewer conceded—back up the higher position.

Players to watch

W. Lankshear has been Middlesbrough's main source of goals, with six in eight appearances, so he looks like their biggest threat if he's involved.

Middlesbrough:

Best scorers:

W. Lankshear - 6

Best assist providers:

L. Ayling - 2

Charlton:

Penalty cards:

D. McNamara x 1 x 3

L. Ayling has chipped in with assists for Boro too. On the Charlton side, D. McNamara has picked up three yellow cards in seven matches, which is a discipline note worth keeping in mind, though it doesn't tell us anything about his likely involvement in this specific fixture.