Cardiff vs Middlesbrough predictions: Free-scoring Boro can edge mid-table tussle

- Cardiff have lost 13 of their 19 meetings with teams above them in the table
- Middlesbrough have lost only one of their last 10 league matches
- Recommended bet: Middlesbrough to win

The Championship play-offs are out of reach for Cardiff and Middlesbrough but a top-10 finish is still on the cards for the mid-table rivals.

The Bluebirds have struggled for consistency recently, winning four and losing four of their last eight games although two of those victories came against promotion contenders Ipswich and Southampton.

Boro have also been mixing in good company, drawing at Hull and Ipswich in their last two away fixtures before a dramatic 4-3 home defeat to second-placed Leeds on Monday.

Team news

Cardiff's Raheem Conte is pushing for a first start at right-back but full-backs Perry Ng and Jamilu Collins have joined Aaron Ramsey, Mark McGuinness, Jak Alnwick, Kion Etete, Callum O'Dowda, Josh Wilson-Esbrand and Karlan Grant on the sidelines.

Middlesbrough should welcome back Leeds loanees Sam Greenwood and Luke Ayling, who were ineligible to face their parent club.

Riley McGree, Josh Coburn, Dael Fry, Marcus Forss, Tommy Smith, Paddy McNair, Darragh Lenihan, Hayden Hackney and Tom Glover remain sidelined but Lukas Engel could return.

The stats

Cardiff have lost four of their last seven Championship matches and have been defeated in 13 of their 19 meetings with teams above them in the table this season.

The Bluebirds' last 11 league defeats were all by at least a two-goal margin.

Middlesbrough, meanwhile, have lost only one of their last 10 league matches, a 4-3 thriller against Leeds on Monday night.

Three of Boro's last four wins were by a 2-0 margin and they have been leading at half-time in five of their last six league victories.

Prediction

Middlesbrough's nine-match unbeaten run in the Championship ended on Monday but they did not go down without a fight against promotion-chasing Leeds.

Boro were beaten 4-3 by their powerful visitors at the Riverside Stadium and they should be backed to bounce back on Saturday's trip to Cardiff.

Both clubs are set to come up just short of the play-offs this season and both are limping towards the finish line with lengthy lists of injury absentees.

But Boro have been playing with plenty of verve recently, beating Norwich 3-1 at the start of March and claiming score draws at Southampton, Hull and Ipswich in their last three away fixtures.

The availability of Leeds loanees Sam Greenwood and Luke Ayling, who missed Monday's clash with their parent club, provides a boost for Boro boss Michael Carrick.

And Cardiff's inconsistency should also encourage Carrick's charges as the Bluebirds have lost four of their last seven games, all by a two-goal margin.

Their recent conquerors include Millwall, Sunderland and Swansea, all of whom are below them in the table, and Middlesbrough – one point better off than Cardiff after 44 matches – can widen the gap on Saturday. 

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