“West Brom, Norwich or Coventry” – Dom Matteo issues clear Middlesbrough play-off verdict

Middlesbrough is holding onto hope, aiming to replicate last season’s success by clinching a top-six finish. Despite a challenging final stretch of five matches, Michael Carrick urges his team to win them all and disrupt the playoff hopes of their rivals. With a recent streak of five wins and two draws in seven matches, they’re in the running but face overcoming a de facto seven-point gap due to goal difference.

Carrick remains cautiously optimistic about Middlesbrough’s chances, emphasizing the need to focus on one game at a time. Meanwhile, Norwich City and Coventry City secured important wins, while West Bromwich Albion faced a setback with a draw against Stoke City. Dominic Matteo shares his prediction on which teams will clinch the last two play-off spots among the four contenders.

Dominic Matteo on the Championship play-off race

Speaking exclusively to Football League World through William Hill, Matteo shared his view that Middlesbrough may fall short of the play-offs this season. He believes their late surge won’t bridge the gap they’ve created, predicting West Brom, Norwich, or Coventry to secure the final two spots.

“Away to Hull [City] & Ipswich, followed by a home game against Leeds are all tough fixtures, and they would also need others to slip up, but I don’t see this happening as West Brom and Norwich have been more consistent this season and Coventry will also push on after their win over Leeds.”

Recent form could be viewed in two different ways by Middlesbrough fans

Boro fans anticipated a strong promotion push after last season’s promise, but losses like Akpom and Archer made it challenging. Their recent form shows promise, yet missing the play-offs would cast this season differently: a missed chance due to early struggles or a building block for the next campaign.

The Swansea boss was less than impressed with the atmosphere and standard of football at the Riverside Stadium

Players like Emmanuel Latte Lath, who has scored five goals in his last seven appearances for Boro, are starting to find consistency. The hope will be that they can carry this over to the next campaign, and the fear will be that this may all lead to nothing, both this season and next season.

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