Swansea City vs Middlesbrough Prediction: Middlesbrough have been impressive since Carrick took over

Middlesbrough is embarking on a long journey to face Swansea City, with the aim of securing a victory that will maintain their chances of automatic promotion. Despite sitting seven points behind second place, the visitors will be looking to close the gap on their opponents who are currently languishing in 17th position in the Championship standings.

Despite winning only three of their last 19 matches in the second tier, the Welsh team's faint hopes of making a late challenge for the playoffs remained alive until their defeat against fifth-placed Luton Town. The upcoming matches against third and seventh-placed teams may prove to be difficult, but even if they continue their winless streak, their manager, Russell Martin, may still keep his job due to the level of difficulty. However, Swansea's recent form is concerning, and only victories and a stronger unity in the transfer market during the summer may be enough to secure Martin's position at the club.

Piroe, Cooper, Whittaker, Manning, Fulton, Grimes, Sorinola, Latibeaudiere, Wood, Cabango and Fisher

Sheffield United's recent loss of three out of their last five Championship matches has worked in Middlesbrough's favour, giving them hope in the race for second place. However, Boro's 2-0 defeat at the hands of West Bromwich Albion on February 25th and Sheffield United's narrow victory over Reading in the middle of the week have put them back in the position of underdogs. Despite this setback, Michael Carrick, the former England international, is confident that his team can continue to put pressure on their rivals, especially after their 5-0 triumph over Reading in the previous weekend. With six wins in seven matches, Carrick knows that his team's away form must improve if they wish to remain in the automatic promotion hunt in the long run. Boro has lost three of their last seven away games, giving Swansea a glimmer of hope to get back on track.

Archer, Ramsey, Akpom, McGree, Hackney, Howson, Giles, Lenihan, Fry, Smith and Steffen

Martin is aware that it's important to secure a victory soon, and his team might enjoy being considered the less-favoured side in the upcoming match. However, Middlesbrough has been the most impressive team in terms of scoring goals since Carrick took over, and we anticipate that trend to persist on Saturday. The match is predicted to end with a Middlesbrough win and we can expect more than 2.5 goals in the game.