Middlesbrough and Huddersfield Town square off on Tuesday evening with both teams looking to end lengthy winless streaks in the Championship.
While Boro have gone five matches without recording maximum points, Huddersfield's last success came on December 29, a run spanning seven games.
Match preview
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Having made a number of notable additions in recent weeks, Neil Warnock would have been confident about getting a reaction from his inconsistent squad.
However, Saturday's 2-1 defeat at Derby County has further hit the club's promotion hopes, with Boro now finding themselves six points adrift of the playoffs.
There is still time for the North-East outfit to turn things around, starting with a home fixture against the worst-performing side in the division over the last six matches.
Nevertheless, goals are being conceded at one end when they have almost dried up at the other, leaving Warnock with the difficult task of searching for two winning formulas.
Neeskens Kebano's first-half strike at Pride Park marked the first time that a Boro player had scored for over seven hours of football, their only other strike during that period coming courtesy of an own goal.
While Boro have lost considerable ground on the top six, Huddersfield have being pulled into a relegation fight after failing to win a game in 2021.
Carlos Corberan would have felt that the club's six-match winless streak was about to come to an end on Saturday when they opened up a 2-0 lead against bottom-of-the-table Wycombe.
However, in one of the most surprising comebacks all season, the minnows fought back to prevail by a 3-2 scoreline, moving the Terriers to within five points of the drop zone having played more games than many of the teams below them.
The Huddersfield hierarchy have not shied away from making decisions regarding the managers in the past, something which will not be lost on Corberan as he bids to keep the club in the second tier.
Although some patience will be provided by those behind the scenes, a sixth setback in eight matches would only lead to further calls about yet another change in the dugout.
Middlesbrough Championship form: WLLDLL
Huddersfield Town Championship form: LLLDDL
Team News
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The defeat at Derby will lead to Warnock tinkering with his Middlesbrough XI for this fixture.
Chuba Akpom is likely to start in attack ahead of Britt Assombalonga, while Marvin Johnson could be recalled on the left flank.
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing may have to remain patient for his first start of the season.
Huddersfield will again be without Harry Toffolo as he serves the second game of a three-match suspension.
Alex Pritchard is an option in midfield, while Richard Stearman will be considered for a recall to the middle of the backline.
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Bettinelli; Fisher, Djiksteel, McNair, Bola; Morsy, Howson; Kebano, Saville, Johnson; Akpom
Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Schofield; Pipa, Stearman, Sarr, O'Brien; Hogg, Vallejo; Holmes, Bacuna, Mbenza; Campbell
We say: Middlesbrough 2-1 Huddersfield Town
While Huddersfield would be content with a point at the Riverside Stadium, Warnock knows that he must push for all three points. With that in mind, we feel that the home side's superior quality in the final third will prove decisive when it matters.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Middlesbrough win with a probability of 38.99%. A win for Huddersfield Town had a probability of 31.89% and a draw had a probability of 29.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Middlesbrough win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.04%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (7.79%) and 2-0 (7.6%). The likeliest Huddersfield Town win was 0-1 (11.47%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.36%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 7.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Middlesbrough would win this match.
