Sunderland 5/4 to finish above Middlesbrough in 2024/25 Championship

Sunderland are priced at 5/4 to finish above Wear-Tees rivals Middlesbrough in the 2024/25 Championship season.

Middlesbrough/Sunderland Season Match Bet Odds

(Odds will display when market is available)

The 2023/24 campaign failed to hit the heights anticipated for either North East club as Middlesbrough fell just short in their quest for a play-off berth and Sunderland's season unravelled following the decision to part company with Tony Mowbray.

And yet as we approach the new season, a strong sense of optimism reverberates around both the Riverside and Stadium of Light.

After his play-off side of 22/23 was dismantled, Michael Carrick eventually managed to get a tune out of his Middlesbrough team following a dismal start and the former Manchester United midfielder has set the foundations for a successful campaign with the Teessiders plotting a return to the Premier League.

Fourth favourites to win the Championship title, Middlesbrough are 4/7 to finish above rivals Sunderland, a feat they have achieved in the previous two seasons.

Sunderland, meanwhile, are to set sail on an entirely different course following the left-field appointment of Regis Le Bris, which ended a long and arduous search for a permanent successor to Michael Beale.

The decision to sack Mowbray in favour of appointing Beale proved a disastrous one and within 77 days, his tenure was over. The club's hierarchy opted to install Mike Dodds as an interim while their search for a new manager commenced and Sunderland plummeted as a result, finishing just six points above the drop.

While a catalogue of strategic errors wasted a season, the club do still possess one of the most exciting squads in the Championship with a wealth of prodigious talent in their ranks, headlined by Jobe Bellingham, Dan Neil and Chris Rigg.

Le Bris has honed an impressive reputation for the development of youth prospects during his time in France and if he can get a tune out of Sunderland's effervescent group, the Black Cats could be challenging the upper echelons of the Championship.

Sunderland are 5/4 to finish above Middlesbrough when competing in the same league for the first time since 2008/09.

Jaquob Crooke

• Middlesbrough F.C.
• Sunderland A.F.C.
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