Middlesbrough will look to continue their push for promotion at home to relegation-threatened Rotherham United when the pair meet at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday.
The home side have been bruised by recent away defeats, but their home form is the backbone of their promotion charge and they are the favourites to beat struggling Rotherham.
Middlesbrough
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Middlesbrough looked nailed on for at least a playoff place this season, but they will be disappointed if they don't gain automatic promotion back to the Premier League.
Aitor Karanka's side looked unstoppable after Christmas, but since then their form has been patchy and they have lost heavily in their last two away games to fellow promotion contenders Watford and Bournemouth.
They sit just one point behind second-placed Norwich, but only five points above Brentford in seventh.
At the Riverside Stadium they remain strong and have lost just once since August and three times all season. Three of their final five games will take place in front of their home fans, with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Brighton & Hove Albion due to follow Rotherham to the North-East.
However, their problems lie away from home and they have earned just one win in their last six on their travels. Their clash away at Norwich City on April 17 could be pivotal in deciding who goes up automatically.
Goals have not flowed this season for Karanka's men, who are only the ninth highest scorers in the entire division. Striker Patrick Bamford is in fine form for Boro having scored their last four goals, and they rely heavily on him to produce the goods.
However, as Watford showed, if the opposition can nullify him then Middlesbrough struggle. Their defence is the meanest though, and Karanka will hope that they can overcome their recent blip and add to their 18 clean sheets on Saturday.
Recent form: LWWLWL
Rotherham United
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Rotherham's 1-0 home success over Brighton & Hove Albion in their last match came at a crucial time, as they were sliding dangerously towards the drop zone.
The Millers have maintained a healthy gap between them and the bottom three for most of the season, but four successive defeats had seen that gap between them and Millwall come down to just seven points.
Matt Derbyshire's early goal earned them the precious win, but with a game against Norwich City, as well as Saturday's clash with Middlesbrough, still to come, manager Steve Evans will warn his side that they are not safe yet.
On Friday night, two of their rivals Fulham and Wigan Athletic do battle, while Millwall face Watford at home in a tricky encounter, so the Yorkshire side will hope that they remain in a strong position if they do lose at the Riverside Stadium.
Scoring goals has been a problem this season for the Millers as they average just over one goal a game, while they have kept just nine clean sheets all year.
The chances of an away win are slim due to Rotherham's woeful away record. They have emerged victorious on just three occasions away from home, although they did beat Huddersfield Town last month.
Recent form: WLLLLW
Team News
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Middlesbrough are without the suspended Grant Leadbitter for the clash after he picked up his 10th yellow card against Watford on Easter Monday.
Veteran Dean Whitehead is fighting with Adam Forshaw to replace the influential Leadbitter, who has scored 13 times from central midfield this season.
Spanish centre-back Daniel Ayala is expected to start for the first time in three matches after overcoming a groin injury, while Ryan Fredericks is responding well to treatment on a hamstring injury.
Captain Jonathan Woodgate could be replaced by Ayala, while right-back Fredericks is competing for a place with Dwight Tiendalli.
Rotherham could throw defender Richard Wood straight into the team after Steve Evans recalled him from his loan spell with Crawley Town.
Striker Danny Ward could make his first start since his recovery from injury, and he may start alongside Derbyshire in place of top scorer Jordan Bowery.
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Konstantopoulos, Fredericks, Amorebieta, Ayala, Friend, Forshaw, Clayton, Adomah, Reach, Tomlin, Bamford
Rotherham United possible starting lineup:
Martinez, Hunt, Rawson, Broadfoot, Lafferty, Green, Arnason, Smallwood, Pringle, Ward, Derbyshire
Head To Head
If Rotherham pull off an unlikely victory, then it will be their first against Middlesbrough since 1966.
The sides have mainly played in different divisions since the 1960s, although there were a pair of 1-1 draws in 1982-83. Earlier this season, Bamford, Yanic Wildschut and Lee Tomlin gave Boro a convincing 3-0 win, while Jordan Bowery received a red card in the first half.
Middlesbrough currently lead the head-to-head 14-10 in league meetings, with the first coming in 1954. Rotherham won 3-0 that day.
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Hit play below to see what the Sports Mole Sofa had to say about this encounter:
We say: Middlesbrough 2-0 Rotherham United
Middlesbrough may have found the going to be tough in recent weeks, but they are still the best team in the league at home. Rotherham are struggling at the bottom and are woeful on the road, so all things point to a comfortable home win.
Charlie Bennett
