Middlesbrough v Leeds: Leadbitter great value to net first

Middlesbrough can extend their lead at the top of the Championship – for an hour or so at least –when they host Leeds United in Saturday’s early kick-off.

And while this fixture is something of a clash of the titans for the second tier, the odds suggest a routine win for Boro, with the Teessiders priced at 4/7 to claim all three points.

United are much improved of late and will certainly tempt some at odds of 5/1, while the draw is available at 14/5.

However, there are better value bets to be had and Ladbrokes News has scoured the 100-odd markets to bring you three of the best.

Boro to win and BTTS @ 27/10

Given Leeds’ current form – four wins from their last five games – there may be some reluctance to back Boro at odds-on.

However, Aitor Karanka’s men are unbeaten in 12 Championship games at the Riverside and with the FA Cup no longer a distraction they’ll be fully focused on their promotion push.

That said, Leeds have netted in six of their last seven games, losing just one of five on the road, so expect the visitors to get on the score sheet here.

Grant Leadbitter to score first @ 6/1

Patrick Bamford is very much the man of the moment for Boro but he still sits behind Leadbitter in the Championship scoring charts.

The former Sunderland and Ipswich midfielder has smashed 11 goals already this term and is often on penalty duty for the Smoggies, making his 6/1 pricing look extremely generous.

Boro to win 2-1 @ 15/2

We might have tipped Boro to take the points and both teams to score but this game isn’t going to be blessed on the goal front if past meetings are anything to go by.

Of the last seven clashes between the two sides just two have seen more than two goals. So with that and the first of our three bets in mind it would be silly to ignore the 15/2 on this Correct Score selection– just in case.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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