David Prutton is expecting a tight game at the Riverside in the first leg of the semi-final.

In his column for Sky Sports, Prutton predicts a 1-1 draw for the evening kick-off on Saturday.

Aston Villa finished in fourth place with a play-off finish confirmed a while ago, so they have had plenty of time to prepare for these matches. Middlesbrough had to wait a little while longer, but they were guaranteed a spot before the final day fixtures.

It was a chaotic afternoon for Boro in the last fixture of the season against Ipswich, though, because they twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with the last goal coming late on. The point they gained in this match ensured they finished in fifth, so they avoided playing Fulham, which was a harder game on paper.

This affected both teams because they were unsure who they were playing in the play-offs until the last-minute due to it changing based on the scores.

The Verdict

A draw would be a great result for Villa to take back to Villa Park where they can use home advantage to pull them through. Boro can't afford to go into the second leg without a result to hold on to because this Villa side are experts at managing games due to the experience they have throughout the team.

These will be tight games decided by small margins because both sides have a vastly experienced manager at the helm who are experts at extracting the maximum from their team. Whoever comes out victorious over two legs will fancy their chances in the final because they are both tough to beat.