Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Middlesbrough - Championship preview and odds

Published on: 05/08/2017

Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Middlesbrough - Championship preview and odds

August 05 , 2016 15:00pm - Molineux Stadium

Championship

Two of the Championship`s big spenders will go head to head on Saturday as ambitious Wolverhampton Wanderers take on recently-relegated Middlesbrough at the Molineux Stadium.

Wolves have not held back in showing their ambition this season. The first step was to recruit former Porto and Valencia boss Nuno Espírito Santo as Head Coach. They then broke the Championship transfer record with the £15m purchase of defensive midfielder Rúben Neves from Porto.

With so much money invested in one player, Wolves will be expecting some significant return and the 20-year-old will be expected to pull the strings in the centre of the park for the Midland side. Another seven or eight defensive players have been added to the squad, so Nuno obviously felt that this was an area that needed addressing.

Middlesbrough ended last season on a low note but have wasted no time in preparing for an instant return to the top flight. With Premier League cash in their pockets, they have made significant investment in the squad and have recruited former Swansea City and Leeds United boss Garry Monk to lead the charge for promotion. As a result, Boro have been installed as title favourites and expectations will be high going into this first game. They come into this match on the back of a 2-1 friendly win against German side Augsburg.

Striker Britt Assombalonga has been drafted in from Nottingham Forest, becoming the second most expensive player in Championship history (after Ruben Neves) in the process.

Recent form (All Comps)

Burton Albion: LWLDL

Cardiff: WLWWW

Betting odds and tips

Both sides will need time to settle into their new systems so it is hard to pick a clear winner here. As a result, an opening day stalemate could be on the cards.

You can back the Draw to win at 9/4 with Bet365.

By Neil Morris