Aitor Karanka’s Middlesbrough side face Neil Adams’ Norwich City outfit in a game between two sides who must surely feel that they should’ve secured automatic promotion rather than having to go through the playoffs. Both sides spent time in the automatic promotion slots in the final weeks of the season before Watford came through and secured second place, but it is a testament to the character of these sides that they both comfortably won their semi-finals.
Middlesbrough eased past Brentford, winning 5-1 on aggregate after sealing their passage to Wembley with a 3-0 home win in the second leg. They did however have a bad second half to the season, losing to lesser sides such as Fulham and Leeds which was one of the factors behind their slide from top spot to their eventual fourth place finish.
Norwich on the other hand started the season poorly as they struggled to adapt to life back in the second tier of English football, however, their transformation under young Scottish manager Alex Neil has been spectacular. The team is strong throughout from the central midfield pairing of former Leeds players Bradley Johnson and Jonny Howson to Nathan Redmond, who looks as though he is beginning to fulfil some of his potential out wide, and they are a formidable outfit.
However, Boro will take heart from the fact that the most recent meeting between these two saw Karanka’s side claim all three points after Alexander Tettey netted at the wrong end.
Middlesbrough v Norwich City Betting Tips
- Norwich City to win – We’re backing the Canaries, who go into this game as narrow favourites, to win the final inside 90 minutes. Alex Neil’s side looks better on paper and they go into the game having beaten an experienced Ipswich side in the semi-final. The boost given to them by triumphing in that East Anglian derby and their desire for revenge should be able to carry them through whilst we think Boro, as they have done so often in the past will ultimately bottle it. City can be backed to win at 8/5 with BetVictor.
- Nathan Redmond to be man of the match – At 8/1 with BetVictor you can back the ex-Birmingham winger to pick up the man of the match award at Wembley. With plenty of pace to his game he has added an end product this season and he will head into the summer knowing that he will be very much in demand should Norwich falter.
- Norwich to win 1-0 – Playoff finals are often very cagey affairs and it would be no surprise if this one is another tight game. We fancy Norwich to win and with six of the last 10 finals finishing 1-0 the 7/1 on offer with Ladbrokes looks tempting indeed.
- Bradley Johnson to score first – The 28-year-old midfielder has weighed in with his fair share of goals having bagged 15 so far this season and he is a threat whenever he gets the ball within striking distance. He can be backed to open the scoring at 12/1 with Bet365.