Middlesbrough vs. Tottenham: Preview and betting tips

Middlesbrough will welcome Tottenham to the FA Cup. The favourite is clearly a given, but Spurs have lost to Chelsea, Wolverhampton, Southampton and Burnley in the last month. What to expect from the game?

Middlesbrough have lost two of their last three league games and have dropped to eighth place. They are still only two points behind the top four. They are through to the fifth round ahead of Manchester United and Mansfield.

Tottenham are not riding a winning streak either, on the contrary, they have lost four of the last six rounds and are seventh. It is three points behind fifth place (West Ham). On their way through the FA Cup, Spurs knocked out Morecambe and Brighton.

Matt Crooks is the mainstay of the home side, the central midfielder has scored nine goals and assisted two in all competitions. The Slovenian international with a past at Slovan Bratislava netted eight times and added two assists.

Tottenham’s top scorer is not Harry Kane, but Heung Min Son. The Korean technician scored eleven goals and assisted seven. In the midfield, we cannot forget the mainstay Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, the Danish number six was also on six goals (3+3).

Middlesbrough have been pedalling offensively since progressing past Manchester United, scoring a total of eleven goals in the next five rounds.

Tottenham, on the other hand, are struggling defensively, something Antonio Conte is not used to. Spurs have scored at least two goals in five of their last eight games.

Despite the likely rotation of the away team, I think the youngsters will want to take their chances and Tottenham will win in normal time.