Our prediction for this Championship match:
Southampton
Match Time & Date:
29/03/2024
16:00
Prediction: 2-0
Middlesbrough
All eyes will be on St. Mary’s Stadium when Southampton and Middlesbrough square off against each other in the Championship derby. The Saints aim to build on back-to-back wins over Birmingham City (4-3) and Sunderland (4-2) and they are likely to stick to their attacking style of play. Both Juan Larios and Ross Stewart remain on the sidelines with injuries, while Kyle Walker-Peters and Ryan Fraser are both back to contention.
The Boro, on the other hand, are eyeing their fourth consecutive clean sheet in the Championship, but preventing Southampton from finding the net at St. Mary’s Stadium is easier said than done. In their last meeting at the venue the Saints defeated the Boro thanks to Sofiane Boufal’s goal. The bad news for the visiting team is that Riley McGree suffered an injury on international duty with Australia, joining the likes of Tommy Smith, Darragh Lenihan, Marcus Forss, Josh Coburn, Dael Fry, Rav van den Berg, and Hayden Hackney in the treatment room.
Highlighted Player (Paddy McNair):
Following in the footsteps of his compatriot Jonny Evans, Paddy McNair joined the Manchester United academy in 2011 and he was surprisingly handed first team debut by Louis van Gaal at the start of the 2014/2015 season.
Despite his fragile age, the talented central defender has been putting in some very mature performances ever since, and everything suggests he could go on to become an important player at Old Trafford in years to come. After representing a number of youth sides, McNair made his first appearance for the Northern Ireland senior national team in a March 2015 friendly vs Scotland, before making another three outings as his side secured their place at the Euro 2016 finals.
Northern Ireland coach Michael O’Neill surprisingly played McNair in holding midfield in the March 2016 friendly vs Wales. After the youngster impressed in the middle of the park, O’Neill went on to suggest that the Manchester United starlet may be used in midfield rather than defence in years to come in the national team.
Highlighted Team (Southampton):
Southampton are an English football club that have been playing their home games at St Mary's Stadium since 2001. The Saints were based at The Dell in the past and the capacity of Southampton’s new stadium is 32,505. Southampton wear red and white striped shirts and the colour of the team’s away kit is navy and green.
The Saints have yet to win the Premier League trophy, but they did well to clinch the FA Cup title back in 1976, while participating in the final of the prestigious competition in 1900, 1902 and 2003. Southampton outplayed Manchester United in the 1976 FA Cup final and that is probably the club’s greatest victory ever.
The club are well known for their football academy and Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale is one of the players who began their football carrier at the St. Mary’s Stadium outfit. Southampton’s fiercest rivals are Portsmouth and the two teams square off against each other in the South Coast Derby.
Brighton
Barcelona
Las Palmas 
Crystal Palace
Newcastle 
Borussia Dortmund 
Bayern Munich 
West Ham
Arsenal
Chelsea 
Aston Villa 
