West Bromwich Albion vs Middlesbrough Prediction: Middlesbrough are on the cusp of promotion

On Saturday afternoon, at The Hawthorns, West Bromwich Albion will aim to get back to winning ways in the Championship by hosting high-flying Middlesbrough. While both teams have aspirations of earning promotion to the Premier League this season, Middlesbrough is currently a significant 12 points ahead of the Baggies in their quest to catch up with West Bromwich Albion.

Over recent matches, the strong defensive performance that characterized Carlos Corberan's Baggies in the past few months has deteriorated, resulting in a decline in their ability to win regularly. Despite scoring two goals in the second half, West Brom suffered a defeat in a thrilling five-goal match at Vicarage Road on Monday night. In the last three games, defensive and goalkeeping mistakes have caused West Brom to drop more points, with David Button and young player Josh Griffiths struggling to replace the injured Alex Palmer as the goalkeeper. Although they have lost four of their last six games in all competitions, visiting teams may find it challenging to secure a victory at The Hawthorns until the end of the season, as Albion has not lost a home game since October.

Griffiths; Furlong, O'Shea, Pieters, Townsend; Yokuslu, Molumby, Wallace, Swift, Diangana; Dike

Not long ago, it was widely believed that only Burnley and Sheffield United had a chance of automatic promotion this season, but the situation has changed significantly. Middlesbrough, led by Michael Carrick following the departure of Chris Wilder earlier in the season, are now just four points behind Sheffield United in the Championship standings. Middlesbrough has won their last five matches in the second tier, with Chuba Akpom scoring two goals and Riley McGree scoring one to secure a 3-1 victory over Queens Park Rangers at the Riverside in their most recent game. Akpom has been particularly impressive this season under Carrick's management and is currently the top scorer in the division with 19 goals.

Steffen; Smith, McNair, Lenihan, Giles; Barlaser, Hackney, Ramsey, Akpom, McGree; Archer

Under Corberan, West Brom's push for the playoffs has hit a snag for the first time, and they face a challenging task in trying to regain their momentum against a Middlesbrough side that has been in excellent form. Middlesbrough is on the cusp of automatic promotion, but we believe they may be able to get a victory on Saturday or the game to end in a draw. Our predicted result is a Middlesbrough win, with fewer than 2.5 goals expected to be scored.