Middlesbrough will be attempting to keep their faint automatic promotion hopes alive on Wednesday night when they welcome Hull City to the Riverside Stadium in the Championship.
Boro trashed Norwich City on the weekend to send a message to those also fighting for a place in the Premier League, while Hull extended their unbeaten run with a goalless draw at Blackburn Rovers.
Match preview
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Middlesbrough abruptly ended a three-game winless streak on Friday night with a 5-1 victory over David Wagner's Canaries at the Riverside, with goals from Aaron Ramsey, Hayden Hackney, Chuba Akpom and a Cameron Archer brace securing a much-needed maximum.
The manner of the victory on Teesside will impress manager Michael Carrick the most - the ex-Manchester United player will surely use such an emphatic success to spur his side on in their final four matches of the regular season.
Boro currently sit in fourth place in the Championship standings, eight points behind second-placed Sheffield United - although Paul Heckingbottom's Blades have played a game fewer.
Despite Middlesbrough's recent run of one win in four matches seeming to have ruined their chances of finishing inside the top two, with the likes of Akpom and Marcus Forss on fire this season, Carrick's men will be fancied to win the playoffs if they qualify.
The Riverside Stadium has been a fortress for Boro this season, with the hosts only losing once on home soil since the middle of October - the defeat against Burnley at the start of this month was a result that sealed promotion for Vincent Kompany's scintillating Clarets.
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Hull extended their unbeaten run in the Championship to five matches on Saturday afternoon after a goalless draw at sixth-placed Blackburn, with goalkeeper Karl Darlow keeping his third clean sheet in the last four games.
The Tigers struggled early in the season under Shota Arveladze - who was not helped by the high turnover of players at the MKM Stadium in the summer - but have stabilised under the stewardship of ex-Derby County boss Liam Rosenior.
The Yorkshire-based club are currently 15th in the second-tier standings, 11 points ahead of 22nd-placed Reading with just 12 points left to play for - any type of result on Wednesday would mathematically secure Hull's safety.
Lying six points behind Watford in 12th place, Rosenior's men will be targeting a top-half finish in the Championship for the first time since their playoff-winning campaign of 2015-16.
Supporters will be expecting plenty of activity from their side in the summer transfer window as Hull aim to compete at the top of the division next season, with Rosenior set to be trusted to take the club into a promotion charge next term.
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Middlesbrough were dealt a double injury blow during their win against Norwich on Friday, with Ramsey (ankle) and Forss (leg) both forced off with injuries - neither are expected back in action until next month.
Riley McGree remains around a month away from a first-team return following his ankle injury, further increasing the pressure on Archer and Akpom to fire in the goals for Carrick's men.
Centre-back Matthew Clarke continues to struggle with persistent back issues and will miss Wednesday's clash with the Tigers - the 26-year-old has not featured since October for Boro.
Hull will be without the services of leading scorer Oscar Estupinan at the Riverside as the Colombian recovers from an ankle injury, meaning a forward pairing of Ozan Tufan and Adama Traore will lead the line for the visitors once again.
Aaron Connolly showed plenty of promise after making the loan switch from Brighton & Hove Albion in January, but the attacker is now sidelined for the remainder of the campaign after breaking his toe in February.
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Steffen; Smith, McNair, Lenihan, Giles; Howson, Hackney; Jones, Akpom, Mowatt; Archer
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Darlow; Coyle, McLoughlin, Greaves, Elder; Sayyadmanesh, Seri, Slater, Vaughan; Tufan, Traore
We say: Middlesbrough 1-0 Hull City
Middlesbrough still have a slim chance of earning a top-two finish after destroying Norwich last time out, and despite injuries, Carrick's men will be confident of beating Hull.
The Tigers did very well to earn a point at Ewood Park against Blackburn on Saturday, but we believe they will not be able to achieve back-to-back away results.
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