Tony Pulis is making no secret of his starting 11 for this showpiece semi-final clash. Balance and continuity are the essential tactical ingredients for the Middlesbrough boss and he believes he has finally struck upon a settled formation that suits the players at his disposal with Adam Clayton holding and Britt Assombalonga leading the line in a 4-1-4-1.
Boro have finished the season in decent shape, without ever quite looking like the finished article. But they booked their place in the top six with a week to spare following consecutive wins in six-pointers against Bristol City, Derby and Millwall, which says plenty about their current appetite for big matches. Now the calibre of opposition goes up a notch.
Villa’s ambition might not stretch to much more than standing firm and taking the tie back to the Midlands level pegging. Steve Bruce’s men don’t have the strongest away record but they can rustle up a sizzling atmosphere under the lights at Villa Park where they’ve been much more creative since playmaker Jack Grealish got back into the swing of things.
Adam Traore is the go-to game changer for Boro. The 22-year-old winger is a phenomenal dribbler and penetrates defences like no-one else in the division. He also might be eager to prove a point against his former club having barely had a sniff of first-team football during an ill-fated 18 month spell with the Villans. Bruce never fancied him.
Ultimately, you expect Boro to dominating territorially but keeping Villa contained for the full 90 minutes might be a tall order for a team that has managed only four clean sheets in their last 17 matches. Split a point between the Middlesbrough 2-1 and 1-1 correct scores at 10/1 and 11/2 respectively. Essentially, it's a way of having one foot in either camp.
Recommended bets:
0.5pt 1-1 correct score at 11/2
0.5pt Middlesbrough 2-1 correct score at 10/1
