National cups are something special for many teams and supporters. Today's match will decide whether it's Middlesbrough U21 or Watford U21 that keep their silverware dream alive.
There should be plenty of energy on the pitch in this game, as both sides have had time to recuperate from their last game. Let's hope both teams are ready to give it all.
Middlesbrough U21 form and stats
Middlesbrough U21 have played 6 Premier League 2 Divison Two games at their own stadium so far this season, resulting in 3-1-2 (wins-draws-losses).
Middlesbrough U21 faced defeat in their previous match, away at Southampton U21 (1-8). As you see from the result above, Middlesbrough U21 suffered greatly in their last game. Thankfully the team has a new chance to prove themselves in this one. The home side have an in-form goalscorer in Kavanagh, having bagged a goal in four games in a row.
Preceding that match was a Premier League 2 Divison Two defeat to Leeds United U21 (2-4).Goals decide football matches and Middlesbrough are scoring many of them at home; 13 on target from 6 league matches. With more than 1,5 conceded goals on average, the Middlesbrough U21 defense is not exactly impregnable. 10 goals conceded from 6 games. You can find more goal stats on the Statistics tab above.
Watford U21 form and stats
It might be tough going out on the road again for Watford U21, facing their second straight away game. Especially as the previous game, ended with a defeat 0-5 versus Bristol City U21. Watford lost the plot completely in their previous game, as mentioned above. They need to recover quickly from that 0-5 beating and focus on this one.
The game before that, in the Professional Development League, was lost at home, a 0-6 defeat against Colchester United U21.Head 2 Head
Top Goalscorers
  C. Kavanagh 5 goals |  M. Hoppe 3 goals |
Middlesbrough U21 missing players
Watford U21 missing players
| Middlesbrough U21 | Watford U21 | ||||||
| Total | Home | Statistics | Stat | Away | Total | ||
| 25 | 12 | Played | P | 9 | 14 | ||
| 8 | 5 | Won | W | 1 | 1 | ||
| 3 | 1 | Drew | D | 0 | 0 | ||
| 14 | 6 | Lost | L | 8 | 13 | ||
| 40 | 20 | Scored | S | 4 | 6 | ||
| 59 | 22 | Conceded | C | 29 | 44 | ||
| 100% | 100% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 100% | 100% | ||
| 88% | 92% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 78% | 79% | ||
| 76% | 75% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 67% | 64% | ||
| 64% | 58% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 67% | 57% | ||
| 36% | 17% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 44% | 43% | ||
| 76% | 75% | BTTS | BTTS | 11% | 21% | ||
| 8% | 8% | Clean Sheets | C S | 0% | 0% | ||
| 16% | 17% | Failed to Score | F T | 89% | 79% | ||
| 4.9 | 6.1 | Corners for (avg) | C F | 3.4 | 4.1 | ||
| 5.3 | 3.4 | Corners against (avg) | C A | 7.4 | 7.6 | ||
| 2.1 | 2.6 | Yellow cards (avg) | Y C | 1.4 | 1.2 | ||
| 1 | 1 | Red cards | R C | 1 | 1 | ||
| 10.3 | 11.4 | Shots (avg) | S ( | 5.2 | 6.1 | ||
| 4.8 | 5.9 | Shots on Target (avg) | S O | 2.1 | 2.6 | ||
| 38% | 37% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 24% | 16% | ||
| 9.3 | 6 | Shots against (avg) | S A | 15.8 | 15.7 | ||
| 4.7 | 2.6 | Shots on Target against (avg) | S O | 6.9 | 7.4 | ||
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Huddersfield Town U21 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 2 | West Brom U21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| 3 | Middlesbrough U21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -2 | 3 |
| 4 | Watford U21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | -5 | 0 |
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Leeds United U21 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 21 | 25 |
| 2 | Southampton U21 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 28 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 19 |
| 3 | West Brom U21 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 25 | 19 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 10 | 6 | 17 |
| 4 | Norwich City U21 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 20 | 18 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 2 | 16 |
| 5 | Nottingham Forest U21 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20 | 18 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 2 | 16 |
| 6 | Newcastle United U21 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 18 | 17 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 14 |
| 7 | Middlesbrough U21 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 23 | 27 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 17 | -4 | 14 |
| 8 | Aston Villa U21 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 19 | 20 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 5 | -1 | 12 |
| 9 | Sunderland U21 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 9 | -6 | 8 |
| 10 | Stoke City U21 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 27 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 16 | -13 | 8 |
| 11 | Derby County U21 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 27 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 15 | -22 | 0 |
