TipResumen

MIDDLESBROUGH

There are some big expectations to be met at the Riverside Stadium this season but for 87 minutes on the opening day Middlesbrough looked second best against Millwall. Tony Pulis has always got the best out of his squad of players and his determination was met by the Middlesbrough players as they fought back from 2-0 down at Millwall to earn a 2-2 draw on Saturday. For much of that game it looked like Middlesbrough were going to give their fans a disappointing start to the 2018/19 season as they look to hold onto some key players prior to the close of the transfer window. Ben Gibson has moved on to Burnley in the last couple of days, while Adama Traore is another being linked with a move to the Premier League which may affect Middlesbrough's chances of making it back into the top flight. Aden Flint arrived this summer and will replace Gibson, but Pulis may be looking to bring in one or two attacking options to give his solid platform a bite at the other end of the field. Home form is going to be key for Middlesbrough this season as it was last season when only the top two clubs finished with more home wins in the League, although Middlesbrough only scored 33 goals in their 23 League games a the Riverside Stadium. Middlesbrough were beaten 0-1 by Aston Villa in their last game here in the Championship Play Off Semi Final, but they did end the regular season with 7 wins from their last 8 here. Goals may have been a problem for Middlesbrough for much of the season, but they did score at least twice in each of those 7 wins.



SHEFFIELD UNITED

Fitness is always a factor for teams this early into a new season and that may have been part of the reason Sheffield United were not able to hold onto a 1-0 lead over Swansea City on the opening day of the 2018/19 campaign. Chris Wilder was a little disappointed with the result considering the chances Sheffield United created before being hit with a couple of sucker punches in the second half. The Blades will have been happy enough with the 2017/18 season considering they finished above rivals Sheffield Wednesday on their return to the second tier of English Football. A strong start to the season had fans wondering if Sheffield United could achieve back to back promotions, but the side ended up 6 points outside of the Play Off spots although they will feel the experiences of last season can see them get much closer this time around. One of the key aspects for Sheffield United will be trying to find a way to improve their away record having ended last season with the most defeats on their travels out of the top 11 clubs. Sheffield United did win 2-3 at Bristol City in their last away game, but prior to that they had won 1 of 8 on their travels in the League and The Blades had been beaten 5 times in that run.



HEAD TO HEAD

Both Middlesbrough and Sheffield United won their home League game against the other last season. Middlesbrough are now unbeaten in 5 home games against Sheffield United and they have won 4 of those games



PREDICTION

The opening weekend of the new Championship season did not go the way either Middlesbrough or Sheffield United would have expected, but the momentum going into this fixture has to be with the home side. After a poor performance Middlesbrough found a way to rally from 2-0 down at Millwall to earn a draw on Saturday. Tony Pulis has to be convinced his team are going to be much better than that for much of the season, but earning the point will give the players belief they can play poorly and still manage to earn results in games. On the other hand Sheffield United should have perhaps earned more than what they got from the 1-2 defeat to Swansea City live on television on Saturday afternoon. They had the chances at 1-0 up to really put the relegated Premier League club to the sword but were punished for missing those. Now it is up to Chris Wilder to show his team can improve away from home having finished with the most losses on their travels out of the teams that finished in the top 11 of the Championship last season. This has not been a happy hunting ground for Sheffield United having been beaten in 4 of their last 5 visits to the Riverside Stadium and Middlesbrough were one of the strongest home teams at this level last season. Adama Traore's likely move away from Middlesbrough is a blow to the club, but Tony Pulis does feel they have enough to challenge for promotion back to the Premier League. Despite the performance on Saturday, I have to feel Middlesbrough will remain tough to beat as they have been since Pulis took over as manager and I will look for them to win this first home League game of the season. Middlesbrough did score plenty of goals at the Riverside Stadium under Pulis in the last few weeks of the season and I will look for them to win this one on the Asian Handicap.