Having both played out drab goalless draws on Saturday, Birmingham City and Middlesbrough go in search of goals and wins during Tuesday's Championship battle at St Andrew's.
Lee Bowyer's side shook hands on a point with fellow lower-half strugglers Hull City at the weekend, while Boro recorded a stalemate with playoff outsiders Millwall.
Match preview
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Barely anything could separate Birmingham and Hull City on the statistics front never mind the scoreline, as Bowyer's men failed to make it back-to-back wins in the Championship with a 0-0 draw against the Tigers, but danger is not imminent.
Bowyer refused to play the blame game after taking a point from Saturday's game, but the Birmingham boss did lament the state of the pitch after the full-time whistle, with this week's hosts almost home and dry with regards to second-tier survival.
The Blues' 19th-placed standing in the Championship table is far from satisfactory, but a 16-point chasm separates Bowyer's side from Barnsley below the dotted line, and only the most devastating of collapses would see Birmingham dragged into a relegation dogfight now.
A second successive home game without a goal in the Championship may come as a concern to Bowyer, and while Birmingham can almost afford to relax heading into the business end of the season, Middlesbrough travel to St Andrew's with plenty still to play for.
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Demanding an immediate response from his side after former employers Sheffield United put four past them last week, Chris Wilder's Boro shored up at the back against Millwall, but a lack of ruthlessness prevented them from keeping pace with the playoff-chasing pack.
Wilder's side did at least manage to end an abysmal streak of three successive away defeats at The Den, and the Boro boss was pleased to see his side give as good as they got on the physical front, with Millwall not exactly renowned for a welcoming nature on their own turf.
However, a second game without victory sees Middlesbrough plop themselves down in eighth in the table - just one point adrift of Sheffield United in the final playoff place - so the importance of picking up a first league victory on the road since December cannot be understated.
Wilder will certainly view a clean sheet against Millwall as a cause for optimism given that his men had shipped 11 goals in their last four road matches in the second tier, but it was a Halloween horror show for Boro against Birmingham at the Riverside back in October as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat.
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Team News
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Birmingham did not pick up any fresh injury concerns in the recent draw with Hull, with Teden Mengi fit enough to take his place on the bench after recovering from a hamstring issue.
However, Jeremie Bela was absent from the squad to face the Tigers due to illness and is still a slight doubt, while Troy Deeney and George Friend are keeping Maxime Colin company in the treatment room, but the latter is edging closer towards a return.
It would be a surprise to see Bowyer ring the changes after a resolute showing at the weekend, but Scott Hogan could provide an alternative option in the final third ahead of Lyle Taylor.
As far as Middlesbrough are concerned, Wilder will hope to have Anfernee Dijksteel back at his disposal after illness, while Riley McGree and Martin Payero remain out with groin and ankle issues respectively. James Lea Siliki and Andraz Sporar could also apply for places in the squad.
Dijksteel may not make an immediate return to the rearguard, though, with the visiting coach possibly prepared to stick with the Lee Peltier-Dael Fry-Paddy McNair combination after a shutout at The Den.
Wilder will need to assess the fitness of his crop after making just one change on Saturday, but an unchanged lineup could see Premier League loanees Aaron Connolly and Folarin Balogun form their partnership up top.
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Etheridge; Pedersen, Roberts, Gordon; Graham, Woods, Bacuna, Gardner, Hernandez; Hogan, Chong
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Lumley; Peltier, Fry, McNair; Jones, Tavernier, Howson, Crooks, Taylor; Balogun, Connolly
We say: Birmingham City 0-1 Middlesbrough
Bowyer will not want to see any complacency creep in as Birmingham seek to consolidate their second-tier status, and Middlesbrough's away form is nothing to write home about.
The visitors are still in a strong position when it comes to the playoff race and have the youthful talent up top primed to make a difference, so we are backing Boro to return to winning ways by the narrowest of margins.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
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 Middlesbrough win with a probability of 47.82%. A draw had a probability of 26.1% and a win for Birmingham City had a probability of 26.06%.
The most likely scoreline for a Middlesbrough win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.13%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.18%) and 0-2 (8.99%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.38%), while for a Birmingham City win it was 1-0 (8.36%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with an 9% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Middlesbrough would win this match.
