da lvbet： After a decent if unspectacular start to the season, Middlesbrough now find themselves coming to grips with life in the Premier League.
da 888casino： Last season’s second-placed Championship side kicked off with a draw against Stoke and a win over Sunderland, but they’ve picked up just two points from their subsequent six games and are yet to claim victory at the Riverside Stadium.
Arsenal’s season has almost been a negative (or should that be positive) reflection – losing on the opening day against Liverpool but annihilating everything in their path since, leaving them separated from the Premier League’s summit by goal difference alone.
With that in mind, Gunners fans are likely already counting their eggs in anticipation of another win at the Emirates Stadium when Boro travel to north London for Saturday’s 3pm kick off.
But we at FootballFanCast aren’t quite so convinced; in fact, we’re tipping Aitor Karanka’s boys for a shock win – putting an epic dent in Arsenal’s title bid.
SOLID AWAY FROM HOME
Whilst Boro’s home form remains a concern, they’ve been pretty solid on the road this season, claiming six points from four games. In fact, they’re currently eleventh in the Premier League’s away table, courtesy of Whoscored, and have conceded just four goals, notching up one clean sheet against West Brom in the process.
It may not be working in the safety of the Riverside Stadium, but Karanka’s philosophy – a largely defensive 4-2-3-1 echoing shades of Jose Mourinho – is having the desired effect away from home. Nobody epitomises that more than forward Cristhian Stuani, who is currently the Premier League’s fifth-best performer on the road:
BORO HAVE BEEN IN EVERY GAME THIS SEASON
Boro’s current league standing of 17th place doesn’t quite do them justice. Indeed, whilst the likes of Sunderland and Hull City have been on the end of multi-goal drubbings, Boro’s biggest defeat so far this season is just 3-1, courtesy of Everton.
All of their other matches have been decided by the odd goal and they’ve not been played off the park in any instance. In fact, they’ve averaged 52.2% possession in the Premier League this term and conceded just 13.5 shots per match – ranking eighth throughout the division on both fronts.
ARSENAL FACE FATIGUE
They say you only feel tired when you’re losing, but Boro’s trip to the Emirates Stadium comes amid a hectic schedule of four games in ten days for Arsenal.
Indeed, although they swept aside Ludogorets with incredible ease on Wednesday, sealing a 6-0 win, the likes of Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla, Hector Bellerin, Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny played the full ninety minutes, whilst star forward Alexis Sanchez was subbed off late on. With a League Cup tie against Reading just around the corner as well, the Gunners may find themselves a little off the pace this Saturday.