Middlesbrough vs Southampton betting offer: Bet £10 and get £50 in free bets with Betfred

The first legs of the Championship play offs get underway this weekend, which sees Middlesbrough and Southampton go head to head at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday lunchtime.

The two teams finished the season locked on 80 points in fifth and fourth in the table respectively, and are competing for a spot at Wembley in next weekend’s play-off final.

Betfred are offering new customers £50 in free bets to those who place a bet on any of the footballing action between now and the end of the season, an offer which can be claimed by following this link*.

How to claim £50 in free bets with Betfred

• The offer: Get £50 in free bets when you bet £10 on any sports market
• Eligibility: This promotion is only available to new customers residing in the UK, Ireland and Gibraltar who are at least 18 years old.
• Steps: Register and deposit £10+ into your Betfred account, place a bet of £10+ on sports and then receive £50 in free bets within 10 hours of bet settlement
• Important rules: Free Bets cannot be withdrawn as cash and will not form part of any winnings returned. Accumulator Free Bets cannot be used on each-way accumulators. Any unused Free Bets will expire 7 days after issue.

Middlesbrough will head into Saturday’s home first leg as marginal favourites for victory despite having finished behind their opponents in the Championship table after 46 matches.

The Yorkshire side have been an ever present in the play-off positions throughout the entire season, spending the majority of the campaign in the automatic promotion places before dropping out last month at the business end of the season.

Kim Hellberg’s side went through a run of seven matches without a win to scupper their chances of securing promotion automatically, but seven points from their last three matches means they will head into the play offs with a bit of confidence to show.

This is the third time that Boro have reached the play offs since their relegation from the Premier League in 2017, but the club have failed to go beyond the semi finals on either occasion, most recently losing out to Coventry in 2023, and will be hoping this year will be third time lucky.

Southampton are looking to go straight back up to the Premier League at the first attempt following their relegation last season, but started their Championship campaign slowly with Will Still, appointed in the summer, getting sacked in November with the side sat just one place above the relegation zone.

In steps 33-year-old Tonda Eckert on a caretaker basis coming up from the U21 team, who wins his first four matches in charge and is subsequently given an 18 month contract and doesn’t look back.

Suddenly the Saints are the form team in the Championship and has them battling for the automatic promotion places after a run of 20 matches in all competitions without defeat, winning 16 of them.

A 3-1 win at Preston on the final day of the season ensured that the Hampshire side secure the top four finish which guarantees them the all important home advantage in the second leg of their play off tie.

However, Middlesbrough are unbeaten across their last four matches with Saturday’s opposition, including a 4-0 home win in their most recent meeting at the Riverside back in January, which is also Hellberg and Eckert’s only previous managerial meeting, so will take huge confidence with that knowledge.

Each team have had contrasting fortunes through the campaign with Middlesbrough occupying a top two spot for the majority of the season before falling short, while the Saints started slowly but appear to have hit form at the perfect time. Bet on the action and get £50 in free bets with Betfred.

How to watch Middlesbrough v Southampton

• Location: Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough, UK
• Date and time: Saturday 9th May 2026, 12:30pm
• How to watch: Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Football, Sky Sports Ultra HDR

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*New customers only. Register, deposit with Debit Card, and place first bet £10+ at Evens (2.0)+ on Sports within 7 days to get 3 x £10 in Sports Free Bets & 2 x £10 in Acca Free Bets within 10 hours of settlement. 7-day expiry. Eligibility & payment exclusions apply. Full T&Cs apply.