Stoke City and Middlesbrough meet at Bet365 Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire on Tuesday, Oct 13 at 9:00 PM with both clubs firmly in the mix for the European places in the Championship. Stoke City hold the advantage but neither side can afford to drop points.

Stoke City come into this fixture in red-hot form (4W from last 5). Middlesbrough travel drawing too many games (3D in last 5), which may hand the initiative to the hosts.

Head-to-head records offer little separation — Stoke City and Middlesbrough have split their 10 meetings almost evenly (3W–3D–4W). Their last encounter ended in Middlesbrough won 2–1. These two tend to produce goals — averaging 2.8 per game in recent meetings.

Verdict: This looks an evenly matched contest. Home advantage gives Stoke City a slight edge, but Middlesbrough are capable of causing problems. A draw would be a fair result.