Stoke City vs Middlesbrough — match summary
England · Championship · kick-off 14 Oct 2026 02:00
Full time · score 2-3
pPS pre-match readiness (0-100): Stoke City 46 · Middlesbrough 47
mPS in-play performance (0-100): Stoke City 20 · Middlesbrough 62
Shots on target 1-9 · corners 4-3 · possession 34-66
NextGOAL tip: Stoke City +0.5 · 1 stars
The Championship is back in action, and this is a game between two teams both sitting near the top of the table. Stoke City are 4th, not far behind Middlesbrough, so this is a match where both sides want the points to stay in the upper group. Stoke City come in on a three-match winning run and are unbeaten in five. Their home attack has been good enough to score in every match. As for Middlesbrough, although they lost in the cup earlier, they are also unbeaten in four in the league. Their defence is fairly solid, and recent meetings have tended to finish with scores that are not far apart. The expected pattern of play should be a midfield exchange of blows, with Stoke City using a 3-4-3 that has Ethan Galbraith controlling the tempo in midfield, while Middlesbrough set up Will Lankshear as the main striker in a 3-4-2-1. The game should open up from the start, and what to watch is how well Stoke City's defence can handle Middlesbrough's attack.