£50 + £100 free bets from Sportingbet & Ladbrokes

It was the Black Cats who triumphed (2-0) when these teams met back in September and they look a value bet (5/2 Paddy Power) to do the double at The Riverside this weekend. Middlesbrough have looked really shabby recently and only find themselves out of the bottom three by virtue of having a better goal difference than Stoke. A slender 2-1 win over non-league Barrow in the FA Cup last Saturday spoke volumes, especially as Gareth Southgate fielded a full-strength team.

Indeed, Boro have failed to win any of their last eight league matches, so why anyone would want to touch the 5/4 (Paddy Power) about them winning beggars belief. Unless you believe in the law of averages or expect the home side to come out fighting for their under-pressure manager. Nevertheless, the two bets I’ll be having are Sunderland (6/4 Victor Chandler) on the Draw No Bet market and the in-form Kenwyne Jones (11/5 Boylesports) to score at any time.

It's possible that Stewart Downing will be a Tottenham player before this match is played, although he's 16/1 (Skybet) to open the scoring, should Boro continue to successfully rebuff Spurs' advances!