After the fervently hot experience that was Boro’s opener to the season at home to Carlisle on Saturday, it is now time for the first away day of the campaign. Leyton Orient may be a favourite of the bookmakers to go down this season, but they are among the small number of teams to have beaten us at home. And we’ve yet to score a league goal against them (albeit in two encounters), so it’s no cert.
Historically speaking, we can look towards last season and the first midweek game being a 3-1 win at Bournemouth. The first midweek league game in 2010 was at Hereford and was a 4-1 win, but that came during September. In the interests of pretty patterns, therefore, it seems a 2-1 win could be on the cards tonight. But that is no more accurate than drawing a line between two points and calling it a trend.
At the bookmakers, we might just be shading it but there’s not a lot in it. The best odds you can currently get on a Boro’ victory is 13/8 with Ladbrokes and Coral, while the rather odd 83/41 is best for the home win. Goalscorers? Well, the pre-season hotshot Robin Shroot is ranging between 9s and 16s, or back Marcus Haber to get off the mark at 6s. And with the score, our 2-1 shout is looking appealing.
Team Tarot:
