Hull City vs Middlesbrough Predictions, Odds & Betting Preview

Hull, finally coming to life under new boss Ruben Selles, will hope to pull further clear of the drop zone when they take on Championship high-fliers Middlesbrough at the MKM Stadium on Wednesday (5.30pm).

City have won two of their last three, while Boro could do with ending a three-game draw streak to cement their spot in the play-off places.

Football Odds

Team news

Hull boss Selles will hope to welcome back ex-Boro left-back Ryan Giles after he missed the 1-0 win at Blackburn.

However, Ryan Longman, scorer of the winner at Ewood Park, is a major doubt with a groin strain.

Boro were without 10 first-team players for Sunday's 0-0 draw at home to Burnley, but one of those - centre-back Rav van den Berg - should slot back in.

Michael Carrick offered a bleak assessment of the injury situation, which should mean Tom Glover remains in goal and Emmanuel Latte Lath leads the line.

Match odds, Hull City vs Middlesbrough

Hull are a 9/4 chance which might catch the eye given their whiff of improvement and Boro's ongoing injury crisis.

If the league table is your guide, however, then Carrick's raiders get a 23/20 quote with the draw available at 5/2.

Double Chance & BTTS - Hull or Draw and Yes @ 6/4

 Hull might be just above the relegation places, but they are picking up and are actually in the top half of the table for shots taken.

It's their lack of accuracy which is their downfall though the 2-1 win over Swansea and 1-0 win at Blackburn show that improvements at the back are giving them real hope.

Now comes a serious test against a Middlesbrough side who are as open as anything in the section. Two 3-3 draws - at Plymouth and at home to Sheffield Wednesday, either side of Christmas - tell you plenty about the way the Smoggies go about their business.

They followed that up with a 0-0 draw at home to a dour Burnley which was a good effort from Carrick's patched-up men.

They are finding wins hard to come by all of a sudden, however, and that has to offer the Tigers a great chance of avoiding defeat at the very least. Expect goals - and Boro not to win.

Over 42.5 booking points @ 11/10

Leigh Doughty takes charge of this match and he comes into the game in cracking card-flashing form.

He produced five yellows in the League One game between Rotherham and Stockport on Sunday, while on his last Championship outing - Sunderland against Norwich on December 21st - he dished out nine yellows and a red.

He has refereed Hull three times this season, showing four, seven and five yellows respectively in those games.

These aren't two of the worst behaved sides in tier two - Hull average 17.5 booking points per game, Boro 17.1 - but the Tigers have cleared five yellows in three of Selles' matches as he looks to toughen them up.

Offers

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Football Betting Tips from Betfred Insights.