- Both teams scored in Middlesbrough's final five games last season
- Swansea scored 33 goals in 23 away league games last term
- Recommended bet: Both teams to score

Middlesbrough fell short in their bid to reach the play-offs last season but they will feel the top six is a realistic target going into the new campaign after a run of just one defeat in their final 12 last term.

Swansea will be hoping to avoid a repeat of last season when they opened up with a run of seven games without a win, although in a wide open division they are among the backable outsiders to launch a top six bid of their own. 

Team news

Both Middlesbrough and Swansea have largely managed to keep their squads intact over the summer, so far at least, and that sets them in good stead for the season ahead.

Luke Ayling should slot straight into the Boro starting XI after his arrival from Leeds, while fell summer signings Delano Burgzorg and Aidan Morris could make debuts. 

Nathan Wood is the only notable departure for the Swans, while new recruits Goncalo Franco, Zan Vipotnik and Eom Ji-sung will be hoping to be involved on Friday. 

The stats

Middlesbrough have not won an opening-day game since 2014.

Swansea picked up just three points from their opening seven games last season.

Both teams scored in six of Boro’s last eight games last season and the Teessiders scored in all of those.

Swansea scored 10 goals in their final five games last term and have netted in all of their pre-season outings. 

Prediction

Middlesbrough and Swansea meet on Saturday in what has the potential to be an entertaining affair in the opening round of Championship games.

The hosts look worthy favourites after their strong finish last term, losing just once in their final 12 games — and that defeat came at the hands of a Leeds side who finished in third on 90 points.

However, history is against Michael Carrick’s men here as the opening weekend has not been kind to Boro over the last decade and they have not won their first league game since a 2-0 victory over Birmingham back in 2014.

Breaking that hoodoo could play on the minds of the Middlesbrough players, so backing both teams to score looks the best play here as both sides have enough quality in attack to make a breakthrough.

Middlesbrough scored a respectable 30 goals in 23 home games last season and 10 of those came in their final four fixtures at the Riverside, while in Emmanuel Latte Lath they have a player who could challenge for top-scorer honours this term.

Swansea finished in 14th place last season but they had the 11th-best road record in the league, and 33 of their 59 goals came away from home.

Back Both teams to score at 4/6 with LiveScore Bet.