On Sunday, January 22, Middlesbrough will play Sunderland in a mouthwatering Tyne and Wear derby in the EFL Championship at the Stadium of Light in an effort to extend their winning streak to five games. The Boro are fourth in the standings and competing for promotion to the Premier League with 42 points from 27 games. The team has won four consecutive matches since its mid-December defeat to Burnley, which was a 2-1 victory. The 5-1 defeat at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup third round earlier this month has been the only setback in this run.

Michael Carrick, who took over as Middlesbrough’s permanent manager in October after Chris Wilder was fired after just two wins in their first 11 games, has made real progress. Sunderland, on the other hand, is in 10th place, but it has only gained four points more than Middlesbrough. The Black Cats, on the other hand, have lost both of their previous games.

🇦🇷 @julioarcaOK has played and scored for both sides in the Tees-Wear derby 😱

He spoke to @MarkosDiSantos ahead of Sunderland vs Middlesbrough…#Boro | #UTB | #SAFC | #BBCFootball

— BBC Sport Tees (@BBCTeesSport) January 20, 2023

Match details:

• NAME: Sunderland – Middlesbrough
• DATE: 22 Jan 2023
• TIME: 12:00 UTC

Prediction

Middlesbrough, who have been unbeaten in the derby for nearly 11 years and are coming into the game with four victories, are the clear favorite. Sunderland, on the other hand, have lost steam since their victories over Blackburn Rovers and Wigan Athletic, which does not bode well for them ahead of Sunday’s match.

Prediction: We say: Sunderland 1-2 Middlesbrough Sunderland vs. Middlesbrough: Sunderland 1-2 Sunderland’s performance in the previous match was severely hampered by an early red card, and they should fight harder here. Nevertheless, we still anticipate Boro to outperform their rivals in terms of quality, consolidating their hold on a playoff spot.

Head-To-Head

Head To Head
Wins	Draws	Wins
Statistics
13	9	6
5	Yellow cards	2
37	Goals	24
0	Red cards	0

• In the 150 previous encounters between the two teams, Sunderland has a 61-51 advantage.
• Since winning the FA Cup 2-1 in February 2012, Sunderland has not defeated Middlesbrough, and their most recent league victory over the team came in September 2008, when they won 2-0.
• This is the first meeting between Sunderland and Middlesbrough at the Stadium of Light since February 2018 — a 3-3 draw in which both teams had a player sent off.
• Having won their last four games, Middlesbrough could win five in a row for the first time since April 2016 (six).
• Sunderland has lost four of their last six home league games — as many as they had in the previous 23.

Team news

• Danny Batth is anticipated to return to the Sunderland defense’s center position now that O’Nien has completed his suspension.
• That may be the only change Mowbray makes now that his front four are firmly established in the team, assuming no further selection issues arise.
• After suffering injuries, it’s possible that Niall Huggins and Ali Alese will be allowed to return to the starting lineup.
• Paddy McNair and Dael Fry will remain in the middle of the backline for Middlesbrough in the absence of Darragh Lenihan, and Carrick will attempt to select an unchanged Middlesbrough XI for this match.
• Cameron Archer, who arrived in January, is likely to remain one of the replacements once more.

Lineup

Sunderland:

• Patterson
• Hume, Ballard, Batth, Gooch;
• Evans, Neil; Roberts, Diallo, Clarke;
• Stewart

Middlesbrough:

• Steffen
• Smith, Fry, McNair, Giles
• Howson, Hackney
• Forss, Akpom, McGree
• Crooks

Betting Tips

Result: Over/Under 2.5 Middlesbrough Goals: Both teams to score over 2.5: Yes

Where to watch

This match will air live on Sky Sports Main Event.