Middlesbrough welcome Southampton at Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough on Saturday, Mar 13 at 4:00 PM in a Championship fixture that's tighter on paper than the positions suggest — just 1 point split them in the table.

Middlesbrough come into this fixture drawing too many games (3D in last 5). Southampton travel in mixed form (2W 2D 1L), which may hand the initiative to the hosts.

Head-to-head records offer little separation — Middlesbrough and Southampton have split their 10 meetings almost evenly (3W–3D–4W). Their last encounter ended in Middlesbrough won 4–0. These two tend to produce goals — averaging 2.8 per game in recent meetings.

Verdict: Little separates these two on form or history. Home advantage could be the deciding factor — a narrow Middlesbrough win or a draw looks most likely.