- Boro form: Middlesbrough are unbeaten in 5 with 3 wins and 2 draws and the Boro look to be in good shape and full of momentum.
- Charlton form: Charlton are in bad shape with 0 wins, 2 draws and 3 defeats from their last 5 and the pressure is starting to build at The Valley.
- League position: The Addicks are 19th in the Championship 2026/2027 with 14 points from 12 matches and will arrive at Riverside Stadium as massive underdogs on Saturday.
The Boro should be way too good
Middlesbrough are top of the Championship 2026/2027 table with 25 points from 12 games, setting a pace that many top-flight clubs would be happy to emulate and it seems silly to look elsewhere for a winner when the Boro take on Charlton at Riverside Stadium.
The Boro are a solid bet at 1.28, although The Addicks are as big as 8.6 and the draw is 5.7, so the odds on offer don't really suit the mismatch of this game. These two clubs play in very contrasting styles and that could lead to a tactical tussle in this fixture, but the hosts have a much better structure and more at home to win it and so our selection has to be the hosts.
It will be tough for The Addicks to break Boro down
Kim Hellberg has The Boro organised and aggressive, which is a powerful combination at this level. Middlesbrough have a 4-2-3-1 base but when they get the ball in the final third they can transform into a narrow 3-2-5 that will overload the central areas of the opposition.
Nathan Jones has Charlton playing with a back-three base, lots of wing-back involvement and a pressing edge that can be relentless, so it will be interesting to see how they match up on Saturday. Charlton have won just one, drawn two and lost three of their six Championship 2026/2027 away games, conceding an average of 2.17 goals per game on the road. They have scored just one per game on average and that is a big hurdle to overcome in a game when they need to force the pace.
Boro can break the shackles
Goals and players:
Will Lankshear, with six goals in eight Championship 2026/2027 games, is the best bet for a Boro goal here and he has assisted five of his side's last 12 goals, so he's always a livewire in the game.
Bets and stats:
A solid alternative play to the straight win could be Middlesbrough to win and over 2.5 goals, as the Boro are averaging 2.33 goals per home game in the Championship 2026/2027, having scored 14 in 6 at home. Charlton have conceded an average of 2.17 on their travels, so there is certainly scope for this to get a bit out of control, while The Boro should also have the quality to cope with the pressing game that Jones likes to impose.
Recent form:
- The last three results for Charlton have been a 2-2 away draw at Burnley, followed by a 2-0 defeat away at Watford and a 1-3 home defeat to Norwich City.
- The two most recent were a 2-2 home draw with Cardiff City and a 5-1 away win against Bolton Wanderers, so it's fair to say that these two teams are at different ends of the scale in terms of form.
Charlton danger:
Tyreece Campbell leads the way for the Charlton with four goals in his eight Championship 2026/2027 matches, so if the visitors have any chance of pulling off a shock on Teesside, he is their best chance.
