Middlesbrough make the long trip to play Swansea City on Saturday afternoon knowing that they must end a four-game winless streak in the Championship sooner rather than later.
At a time when Boro sit three points adrift of the playoff places, Swansea have recently moved into 13th position in the standings courtesy of a seven-game unbeaten run.
Match preview
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For long periods since the arrival of Chris Wilder, Middlesbrough have looked one of the favourites to finish the campaign in the top six, and that is a target which can still be achieved during the run-in.
However, just one point has been collected from a possible 12, while Boro have failed to score a single goal during their last quartet of fixtures.
While Boro have never been a free-scoring outfit this season, such a drought was unexpected, and Wilder now seemingly needs to work wonders to ensure that a promising season does not end in disappointment.
In comparison to many of their rivals, Boro possess a favourable closing schedule, although trailing sixth-placed Sheffield United with an inferior goal difference means that the pressure is very much on the North-East outfit.
The small positive from their recent run of results is that just four goals have been conceded, a respectable return given that three of the fixtures came against the current top three.
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On the same day that Boro went down 2-0 at home to Huddersfield Town, Swansea astonishingly blew a three-goal advantage away at relegation-threatened Reading.
Although the Royals have been resurgent under Paul Ince, the Swans have recently been one of the form teams in the division having found their groove at both ends of the pitch.
Still, despite the obvious frustration which came with that 4-4 draw, Russell Martin's side have now gone seven games without suffering a defeat, collecting 15 points in the process.
That has been more than enough to convince the powers-that-be that Martin is the right man to take the club forward into 2022-23, and a top-10 finish is realistic now that they trail eighth-placed Blackburn Rovers by just four points with a game in hand.
Joel Piroe has emerged as one of the signings of the season, the Dutchman's recent five-goal haul from four games taking him to 20 strikes for the campaign.
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Team News
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Swansea's capitulation against Reading came after Martin had started to make changes, leaving open the possibility of the same team being named for this contest.
However, Jay Fulton and Olivier Ntcham would both offer fresh legs in defensive and attacking midfield positions, the latter most likely to come into the team at the expense of either Jamie Paterson or Michael Obafemi.
Wilder will make at least one alteration to his attack with Folarin Balogun most likely to replace Andraz Sporar or Duncan Watmore.
Neil Taylor may get the nod at left-back against his former club, but Dael Fry remains a major doubt with a calf injury.
Should Fry stay on the sidelines, Lee Peltier could take the spot of Sol Bamba, while Matt Crooks is suspended due to picking up 15 yellow cards this season.
Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Fisher; Cabango, Naughton, Latibeaudiere; Christie, Grimes, Downes, Wolf; Piroe, Paterson; Obafemi
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Daniels; Peltier, Dijksteel, McNair; Jones, McGree, Howson, Tavernier, Taylor; Balogun, Watmore
We say: Swansea City 1-1 Middlesbrough
Despite their capitulation at Reading, there is an argument that Swansea are the marginal favourites to prevail from this fixture. Nevertheless, Boro will surely end their barren spell in front of goal soon, and it may be enough to earn a share of the spoils from this contest.
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 Swansea City win with a probability of 37.6%. A win for Middlesbrough had a probability of 35.75% and a draw had a probability of 26.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Swansea City win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.07%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.22%) and 2-0 (6.54%). The likeliest Middlesbrough win was 0-1 (9.77%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.67%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.7% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a 1-1 draw for this match.
