Middlesbrough will look to get their playoff bid back on track when they travel to Ashton Gate for Friday's Championship meeting with Bristol City.
Boro are currently in 11th place and four points adrift of the top six, while the Robins are two points better off in eighth position.
Match preview
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Bristol City are sitting two points outside the playoffs after winning 11, drawing 13 and losing nine of their 33 Championship games this season.
The Robins have proven to be a tough team to beat in recent times, having won two, drawn three and lost just one of their previous six matches.
Their only defeat in that period took place against Swansea City earlier this month, before they got back on track with a 2-0 home win over Stoke City.
Liam Manning's side looked set to record another win in last Saturday's Severnside derby against Cardiff City, only for Jason Knight's opener to be cancelled out by Yousef Salech's 90th-minute equaliser, extending their winless away run to nine league matches.
Having struggled on their travels, the Robins will be looking forward to returning to the familiar surroundings of Ashton Gate, where they have won six of their last eight games.
They will also take confidence from the fact that they have each of their last three meetings with Middlesbrough, including a 2-0 win in October's trip to the Riverside Stadium.
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Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick has seen his position come under scrutiny after overseeing just two wins in 11 Championship matches (D4, L5).
In fact, Boro have lost five of their previous six league matches, including defeats in each of their last four matches against Preston North End, Sunderland, Sheffield United and Watford.
Moussa Sissoko scored the decisive goal in last Saturday's encounter, guiding Watford to a 1-0 win and condemning Middlesbrough to back-to-back home defeats, leaving them with just one win in their last six league outings at the Riverside.
Their hopes of experiencing better fortunes on their travels may be tempered by the fact that they have lost each of their previous three away matches since beating Hull City on New Year's Day.
Boro will at least fancy their chances of troubling the scorers, having racked up 26 goals across their 15 Championship road trips, making them the highest away scorers in the division.
Middlesbrough will hope that firepower can help them end their six-game winless run in head-to-head meetings with Bristol City since recording a 2-1 victory in August 2021.
Team News
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Bristol City defender Ross McCrorie is set to miss around six weeks of action after picking up a hamstring injury at the weekend.
Cam Pring is in contention to return to the squad for the first time since New Year's Day, but it remains to be seen whether he will be ready to start following his spell on the sidelines with a hamstring issue.
Yu Hirakawa could be rewarded with a starting berth after he came off the bench to provide the assist for Knight's goal in Saturday's draw with Cardiff.
As for the visitors, they are expected to be without Sol Brynn, Seny Dieng, Darragh Lenihan, Tommy Smith, Riley McGree, Jonny Howson and Ben Doak.
Full-back Anfernee Dijksteel is pushing for a starting berth after returning from injury to play over half an hour against Watford.
Carrick may also decide to make further changes to his lineup, with Finn Azaz, Delano Burgzorg and Samuel Iling Junior are all in contention to start against the Robins.
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
O'Leary; Vyner, Dickie, Roberts; Tanner, Bird, Knight, Sykes; Hirakawa, Twine, Armstrong
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Travers; Dijksteel, Van den Berg, Edmundson, Neto; Hackney, Morris; Iling Junior, Azaz, Burgzorg; Iheanacho
We say: Bristol City 2-1 Middlesbrough
Bristol City have collected six wins from their last eight home league matches, and with that in mind, we think that the Robins will make full use of home advantage to condemn Middlesbrough to a fifth consecutive defeat to pile more pressure on Carrick.
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