Stoke City head into Saturday's Championship fixture with Middlesbrough looking for the victory which will keep them in the playoff places.
However, Boro, who are back in the top 10 after successive wins, travel to the bet365 Stadium sitting just five points adrift of their hosts.
Match preview
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Michael O'Neill will remain perplexed with Stoke's inconsistency throughout this season, the Potters mixing up promising spells of form with losing streaks.
Nevertheless, they still sit in sixth position after 21 games, a scenario which would have been regarded as acceptable at the beginning of August.
After successive 1-0 defeats against Bristol City and Blackburn Rovers, Stoke responded with a brilliant 2-0 victory at Queens Park Rangers last weekend.
Not only did Stoke halt QPR's run of scoring in 31 Championship fixtures in a row, Tyrese Campbell netted his second strike since returning from a serious knee injury.
Although O'Neill will not be getting carried away, the Northern Irishman knows that a favourable schedule awaits his team, and they have an opportunity to make progress towards the faltering top two.
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Middlesbrough were accused of faltering either side of Neil Warnock being sacked and Chris Wilder being named as his replacement at the Riverside Stadium.
However, back-to-back triumphs over Huddersfield Town and Swansea City have catapulted Boro back into contention for the top six ahead of making the trip to one of their rivals for that standing.
Middlesbrough are without a goal in the second half for seven outings, keeping things tight at the back has ensured that there remains reason for optimism among their fanbase.
While they visit Staffordshire having prevailed in just three of their 10 away games this season, seven points have being collected from their latest quartet of fixtures on the road.
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Team News
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Stoke are expected to be without Romaine Sawyers after the midfielder sustained a quad injury during the win at QPR.
Sam Clucas is the natural replacement in the centre of the pitch, and that could prove to be the only change from the team which started at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium.
Steven Fletcher and Campbell should retain their spots in attack, keeping Jacob Brown on the substitutes' bench.
Wilder has been boosted by the return of several players from injury, giving him more food for thought ahead of this contest.
However, the first XI should remain the same with the likes of Dael Fry and Martin Payero only being selected among the replacements.
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Davies; Wilmot, Batth, Fox; Smith, Sawyers, Allen, Vrancic, Tymon; Fletcher, Campbell
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Daniels; Djiksteel, Bamba, McNair; Jones, Crooks, Howson, Tavernier, Bola; Watmore, Sporar
We say: Stoke City 2-1 Middlesbrough
While Stoke will be wary of letting Middlesbrough back into the promotion race, there is also an opportunity to establish further distance between themselves and the chasing pack. With that in mind, we are backing the Potters to show an extra cutting edge in the final third to claim a hard-fought victory.
Top tip
Darren Plant
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 Stoke City win with a probability of 38.32%. A win for Middlesbrough had a probability of 34.69% and a draw had a probability of 27%.
The most likely scoreline for a Stoke City win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.58%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.25%) and 2-0 (6.81%). The likeliest Middlesbrough win was 0-1 (9.96%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.81%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with an 8.2% likelihood.
