Middlesbrough v Everton Betting Tips: Koeman’s men to continue on the up

An in-form Everton travel to take on Middlesbrough at the Riverside on Saturday afternoon as Koeman and his men look to continue their run.

Middlesbrough are certainly one of the most pragmatic teams in the Premier League with only Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United conceding fewer goals so far this season. Karanka has his side well-drilled and they’re tough to break down. However, this comes at a price as they are also the league’s lowest scorers with just 19 goals to their name.

Boro are close to the relegation-zone and that is no surprise when you consider that they have the fewest victories of all the teams in the division (four) as well as the joint-most draws (nine). Given that the majority of teams around them are showing improvements lately, Aitor Karanka’s side must start to push themselves forward and look to score mre often otherwise they may start slipping down the table.

Conversely, Everton average more dribbles per game than any other team (12.6) and this attacking football has been working wonders of late, while striker Romelu Lukaku is looking just about the most threatening striker in the league right now. Going into this match, Everton are also boosted by the fact that Idrissa Gueye is back to full fitness following his African Cup of Nations adventure.

Middlesbrough’s negative style of play could really suit Everton here and if the visitors come on strongly from the off as they did against Bournemouth last weekend, the hosts could be in real trouble.

Koeman has his side playing really well right now and they’re likely to be high on confidence. Middlesbrough finally gave in to Tottenham’s pressure last weekend and are fancied to do the same against a strong Everton outfit here.

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