Middlesbrough welcome Birmingham City to the Riverside Stadium on Saturday having avoided defeat at home in the Championship for seven matches.
Birmingham make the long trip to the North-East on the back of three disappointing results, and a fourth may see them drop towards mid-table.
Middlesbrough
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As we approach the halfway stage of the season, we are beginning to see which clubs have the potential to last the pace in the most competitive league in English football, and as it stands, it would take a brave person to back against Middlesbrough earning promotion in the spring.
At the start of October, Aitor Karanka's men started to show a few chinks in their armour after going three games without success, but they have responded in excellent fashion, registering 18 points from seven matches.
The one defeat came away at title rivals Hull City, who capitalised on an uncharacteristic below-par display from Boro, but either side of that setback, six victories have been posted, as well as five clean sheets.
The latest shutout came at Portman Road last Friday as Middlesbrough ran out 2-0 winners against Ipswich Town. Karanka openly admitted that his team were fortunate to go into the break on level terms, but in the second half, they showed their class to temporarily move back to the top of the standings.
They would be dislodged from first place by Brighton & Hove Albion less than 24 hours later, but that would not have concerned Karanka, who will be delighted to have Christian Stuani back to full fitness after a lengthy injury layoff.
Despite his absence, the Uruguayan striker remains Middlesbrough's top goalscorer with eight goals and if the North-East outfit can keep him fit during the winter months, they will give themselves every chance of remaining in the automatic promotion places throughout the rest of the campaign.
Recent form: WWLWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WLWWLW
Birmingham City
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After progressing through the opening two months of the season as one of the form teams in the division, Birmingham have dropped off the pace in recent weeks, leaving open the threat of their early work being undone.
Birmingham won seven of their first half-a-dozen fixtures, but in seven games since October 24, they have registered just four points, with the club dropping outside of the top six for the first time in weeks.
The lack of form has coincided with boss Gary Rowett being linked with the vacant managerial role at Fulham, and with the Cottagers remaining without a head coach, speculation will continue to linger, but Rowett must remain focused on the job in hand at St Andrew's.
There is no pressure on Birmingham to secure promotion this season, with a top-half finish probably being considered acceptable by the club's hierarchy, but with expectations having being raised due to their early results, Rowett cannot afford for their recent slump to still be present during the busy Christmas period.
The Blues are missing top scorer Clayton Donaldson, but Rowett will hope that on-loan striker James Vaughan, who was forced to sit out last week's 2-0 defeat to parent club Huddersfield Town, can provide the side with the firepower that they have been lacking, aside from their 5-2 demolition of Fulham on November 7.
Recent form: LDWLLL
Team News
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Middlesbrough trio Jonathan Woodgate, Fernando Amorebieta and Adam Forshaw have all been declared fit for selection after recovering from their respective injuries.
Defender Rhys Williams has returned to training after back-to-back Achilles injuries, setbacks that have limited him to five minutes of action in 23 months, but he will be given time to get back to full fitness.
As for Birmingham, Donaldson will again miss out, with Vaughan expected to make a first start, while David Cotterill is another notable absentee from the squad.
Striker Nicolai Brock-Madsen may drop out of the starting lineup after hurting his foot in training, while Jon Toral will undergo a late fitness test.
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Konstantopoulos, Nsue, Ayala, Gibson, Friend, Leadbitter, Clayton, Stuani, Downing, Adomah, Nugent
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Kuszczak, Caddis, Morrison, Spector, Grounds, Kieftenbeld, Gleeson, Davis, Toral, Vaughan, Gray
Head To Head
Saturday's fixture will represent the 110th time that the two clubs have met, with Birmingham winning 44 times in comparison to 32 victories for Middlesbrough.
Despite the historical record, Middlesbrough are unbeaten in the last four fixtures, which have included two wins and two draws.
The two victories have both come at the Riverside Stadium, with the 2-0 win in the North-East last season occurring on the opening day.
We say: Middlesbrough 2-0 Birmingham City
With Middlesbrough currently showing little weakness and Birmingham showing plenty, it is hard to make any case for the visitors getting anything from this match. The Championship always throws up surprises, but that should not be the case at the Riverside.
Darren Plant
