Middlesbrough vs Swansea: Lineups, Predictions and Betting Tips

Match Details: August 9, 2025| Riverside Stadium | Sky Bet Championship | 15:00 GMT

The wait is finally over! Middlesbrough meet Swansea in the first round of matches in the 2025/26 Sky Bet Championship season, as two sides with uninspired pre-seasons will look to grab all three points to get their season started off positively.

Last season in the Championship, Middlesbrough finished 10th and Swansea finished 11th with only three points separating the two sides after the final game.

This should be a tight affair, but should give us some indication on the trajectory of both clubs' upcoming campaigns.

Key Betting Tip: Both teams to score at 1.75 odds represents excellent value based on the tip provided by our team of in-house tipsters.

Middlesbrough vs Swansea Predicted Lineups

Middlesbrough Predicted XI: Brynn; Borges, Van Den Berg, Fry, Ayling; Hackney, Kante; Burgzorg, Azaz, Whittaker; Conway

Swansea Predicted XI: Vigouroux; Key, Burgess, Cabango, Tymon; Galbraith, Franco, Widell; Congreve, Ronald, Cullen

Middlesbrough are without a few of their players for this clash. Darragh Linehan reminds sidelined with a muscle injury, as confirmed by boss Rob Edwards. Riley McGree is also likely to be out with an injury.

Meanwhile Swansea will be without three of their centre-backs. Swansea will make a late call on whether Ben Cabango will feature, but Ricardo Santos and Filip Lissiah will remain out.

Middlesbrough vs Swansea Current League Standings

This is the opening round of fixtures for the Sky Bet Championship, so both teams are sat on 0 points. After this fixture we will then have league standings to go off for the next round of games in the Championship.

Middlesbrough vs Swansea Head-To-Head Timeline

March 2025: Swansea 1-0 Middlesbrough (Championship) August 2024: Middlesbrough 1-0 Swansea (Championship) April 2024: Middlesbrough 2-0 Swansea (Championship) December 2023: Swansea 1-2 Middlesbrough (Championship) March 2023: Swansea 1-3 Middlesbrough (Championship)

The past five meeting have all come in the Sky Bet Championship. With Middlesbrough winning all but one fixture, which happens to be the last meeting between the two sides which was in March of this year.

This will give Middlesbrough all the confidence going into this game, but the circumstances surrounding the last meeting will give Swansea some encouragement that they can come away with at least a point here.

Recent Middlesbrough and Swansea Matches Analysis

Middlesbrough Last 5 Matches:

Middlesbrough 2-2 Deportivo (Club Friendly) Hartlepool 1-1 Middlesbrough (Club Friendly) Rangers 2-2 Middlesbrough (Club Friendly) Bradford 2-0 Middlesbrough (Club Friendly) Mansfield 3-3 Middlesbrough (Club Friendly)

Rob Edwards' Middlesbrough seem quite vulnerable when you look at the results in their friendly matches this preseason. They have conceded 10 goals in these 5 matches and will look to sure up their defence ahead of this contest against Swansea. Striker Tommy Conway is showing signs of form, scoring 3 goals during preseason and will be a threat for Swansea's defence to deal with.

Swansea Last 5 Matches:

Swansea 1-3 Lorient (Club Friendly) Exeter 1-0 Swansea (Club Friendly) Cheltenham 2-1 Swansea (Club Friendly) Swansea 3-2 Stevenage (Club Friendly) Swansea 3-3 Oxford Utd (Championship)

A disappointing preseason for Swansea, to put it lightly. They have played only 4 games this summer, that is why their last Championship of last season is on here.

If they want to get anything from their game against Middlesbrough, they will have to fix their defensive problems. Conceding 8 goals in 4 preseason games is concerning, and three of their centre-backs being injured certainly isn't going to help that. Expect Middlesbrough to bag a couple of goals against them here.

Middlesbrough vs Swansea Predictions

Our advanced algorithm analyses over 200 data points to generate these predictions with 66.70% confidence in a Middlesbrough victory. The model factors in current form, head-to-head records, player availability and tactical matchups.

Best Middlesbrough vs Swansea Betting Tips

Football Park’s Best Bet: Both Teams to Score @ 1.75 - Our team of in-house betting tipsters have predicted both teams to score in this fixture. The fixtures' head-to-head record and the both teams recent form justify confidence in this selection.

Key Players to Watch: Middlesbrough vs Swansea

Tommy Conway (Middlesbrough): Conway bagged two goals in Middlesbrough's most recent friendly against Deportiva De La Coruna. He also managed to score 13 goals last season in the Championship. He is Boro's biggest attacking threat here, it would not be surprising for him to score here with Swansea's obvious defensive woes.

Goncalo Franco (Swansea): Franco was Swansea's supporters player of the year, and players' player of the season last time out. He remains to be the Swans biggest game changer in their starting 11. He hasn't been the most productive in their preseason, but his explosive ability on the wing could help Swansea nick something from this game.

Middlesbrough vs Swansea Match Facts

Referee: Sam Allison (England) Previously a fire fighter by trade, Allison became a professional referee in 2020. He became the 3rd Black official to take charge of an EFL game. He has also took charge of 7 Swansea games, with Swansea winning only 1 of them.

Broadcast Details:

UK: Sky Sports +

Stadium Information: The Riverside has been the home of Boro since its opening in 1995. It has a capacity of 34,742 a highly respectable amount for a Championship side.