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Domestic Football
Preview - 07 Oct 2007
Goal-shy Boro to draw another
blank.
Having tipped up Middlesbrough a few weeks back at West Ham, it
was my belief that Gareth Southgate's side are a lot better than
results suggest. Three games and no wins later, I still hold the
same view. Unfortunately there are some obvious weaknesses that need
to be addressed. The defence has been giving away daft goals, whilst
the strikers just aren't firing. The main culprits have been Mido,
Tuncay and Lee Dong-Gook. It seems inevitable that the Egyptian and
Turkish Internationals will come good at some point, however with
both massive injury doubts, it looks likely that Southgate will have
to rely on the mis-firing Korean or youngster Tom Craddock to lead
the line at the City of Manchester Stadium today. It's hard to
imagine the in-form Richards and Dunne quaking in their boots at the
prospect of facing either.
Man City have had a remarkable start but it wasn't until
Newcastle's visit last week, that Sven's side really put in a
top-class performance. At least one to make the 'big four' sit up
and take notice. Brazilian International Elano is in sensational
form, while the pacey Martin Petrov is a constant menace down the
left.
Whether City are genuine 4/6 shots to beat an injury-hit Boro is
open to debate, but I expect the blues to have a little too much
class. With both sides likely to adopt a 4-5-1 formation, don't
expect a flood of goal scoring opportunities. It's not the way
Southgate wants to go, but he really has no choice but to opt for a
safety first approach today. Expect to see support to the lone
striker coming from Stewart Downing and Gary O'Neil - who is
overpriced to score.
Man City vs Middlesbrough. Sunday 15:00.
Recommendation: 4 pts Under
2.5 goals @ 1.78 Betfair. 0.5pts Gary O'Neil to score @
11/1 Paddy Power.
Ilunga
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