Well, I have to take my
hat off to Middlesbrough boss Gareth
Southgate. The ex Villa man has had his
fair share of knockers and his team were
predicted by many to go down, but he has
definitely got Boro going in the right
direction and they are now slowly moving
away from the relegation trapdoor after
a string of fine performances.
They now
lie 6 points off the relegation places,
mainly due to only two defeats in their
last eight, and they have picked up
draws at some very tough places, notably
Arsenal last week and Aston Villa. They
now face a Derby side already doomed at
the foot of the table, and with no hope
of survival.
 I'm
still a bit bemused at Paul Jewell's
decision to take over a Derby side with no
hope whatsoever of staying in the
Premiership, and I wonder if it really was
the best choice for a manager with a good
pedigree in the Premiership.
Derby's record
is woeful, with only one win in the
Premiership all season, and the Rams have
only taken three points from a possible 39
away all season. In their last game they
were completely dominated by Man Utd, but
only succumbed by a single Ronaldo goal at
home, while their last away trip ended in a
6-1 drubbing at Chelsea.
The bookies have priced the Middlesbrough
home win @ 1/2, the draw is 10/3 while the
away win is 8/1
Bet365 offer a
free £100
bet on this game and at odds of
1/2 I'm not taking any risks but am going for the
straight forward home
win. That price is pretty fair in all
honesty when we consider Derby's woeful away
record, and is just big enough for me to
take a sizable chunk today.
Derby will have built some degree of
confidence coming into this game after only
losing to Man Utd 1-0 last week, but I'm not
sure the fighting spirit of Robbie Savage is
enough these days, and Middlesbrough are
simply playing too well not to win this one.
Boro to win a scrappy one 1-0
© Free-Bets.uk 2008
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