England League Cup-Port Vale vs Middlesbrough Predictions

 

 

Port Vale have won three of their last 11 matches

Vale have kept just one clean sheet in their last ten matches on their own patch

Middlesbrough have scored at least twice in 12 of their 15 away games this term

Vale look in for a difficult night

League One Port Vale have not beaten a team from the top two divisions on their way to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals and it seems likely that their memorable run will be ended by Middlesbrough on Tuesday.

 

Vale are 15th in the third tier and while they will have been boosted by Ethan Chislett’s hat-trick giving them a 3-2 win over Wigan on Saturday, that ended a run of five home matches without a victory.

 

They surrendered a two-goal lead when beaten by Stevenage on penalties in their FA Cup replay, so they are struggling to finish the job and it could be that Middlesbrough’s extra class proves too much for the Tunstall outfit.

 

Boro forwards flourish on the road

Much was expected of Boro after they reached the playoffs last season, but they did not hit the ground running and will be disappointed to find themselves in tenth spot.

 

The congested nature of the Championship means they could easily get into top-six contention during the second half of the campaign.

 

One thing that is noticeable with Michael Carrick’s side is that they have been full of goals on the road, scoring 12 times on the last five occasions they have been on their travels.

 

They could keep that run going with a 2-1 win here, having already won at Huddersfield, Bolton, Bradford and Exeter in this competition this season.

 

Tips : Port Vale have yet to test themselves against Championship opposition in this year’s Carabao Cup and they could struggle against Middlesbrough, who have been generally strong on the road this season and are probably stronger than their tenth position in the second tier suggests.

 

Recommendation: Away @1.79