Aiming to avoid back-to-back defeats for the first time this season, league leaders Leicester City will travel to the Riverside Stadium to face top-six chasing Middlesbrough on Saturday afternoon in the Championship.
The Foxes suffered only their second loss of the league campaign last time out against Daniel Farke's Leeds United, while Boro shared the spoils with Plymouth Argyle following an action-packed encounter in Devon.
Match preview
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After six successive victories in the Championship between late September and the end of October, it appeared as if Middlesbrough were back on track as they look to secure a top-six placement and ultimately promotion to the Premier League under the stoic leadership of Manchester United legend Michael Carrick.
However, Boro have collected just one point from their most recent league duels with Stoke City and newly-promoted Plymouth, who managed to earn a point from the North-East giants at Home Park last weekend, with Bali Mumba, Finn Azaz and Morgan Whittaker breaching Seny Dieng's net.
A real concern for Middlesbrough this term has been their tendency to leaks goals, and Carrick's side have certainly not been helped by the absence of Darragh Lenihan due to injury, with the Teesside club conceding 23 times in 15 matches - the same number as basement dwellers Sheffield Wednesday.
Following the departure of Chuba Akpom to Ajax in the summer, it is extremely unlikely that Boro will have a horse in the Championship's Golden Boot race this term, but the likes of Josh Coburn, Sam Greenwood and Emmanuel Latte Lath are doing enough to maintain the hosts' attacking threat.
Middlesbrough currently occupy 12th position in the second-tier standings as they aim to distance themselves from a woeful opening to their season, and with an EFL Cup quarter-final clash against Port Vale approaching next month, Carrick's men will be hoping to make winning memories in more than just the Championship this term.
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Leicester City fans witnessed their side's nine-game winning streak in the Championship come to a disappointing end last Friday, when a resurgent Leeds team who opted for an ultra-aggressive approach against the Foxes were rightly rewarded, with Georginio Rutter netting a second-half winner at the King Power Stadium.
The fact that last weekend's loss to Leeds was the first time Enzo Maresca's men have failed to score in a match since September 2 highlights how remarkably the East Midlands outfit have commenced their 2023-24 term, with the Foxes currently sitting handsomely at the top of the second-tier tree, 11 points ahead of third place.
After being one of the leakiest defences in the Premier League under Brendan Rodgers last season, Leicester have built their enviable early-term form this time around on a rock-solid base, with a centre-back partnership of Jannik Vestergaard and Wout Faes helping Mads Hermansen to concede only nine times in 15 league matches.
At the top end of the pitch, the Foxes have shared the goalscoring responsibility around their ranks pretty evenly so far, although the contributions of playmaker Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall have been stark, with the former Luton Town loanee netting five times and providing six assists already in the Championship.
Maresca's charges have been spotless on their second-tier travels since the season started in August, having won all seven of their outings, with recent away successes at Michael Duff's Swansea City and relegation-threatened Queens Park Rangers displaying how Leicester have a steely determination to complement their unquestionable quality.
Team News
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Middlesbrough are still without the services of a number of key first-team players ahead of this weekend's visit of the league leaders, with Riley McGree and Marcus Forss not expected back until after the international break.
Veteran Tommy Smith has been ruled out for the remainder of the campaign due to an Achilles tendon injury, meaning Rav van den Berg will start at right-back despite struggling for periods at Home Park last time out.
Nottingham Forest loanee Lewis O'Brien remains sidelined because of an ankle issue, so Hayden Hackney and Jonathan Howson should be the engine-room partnership for Boro on Saturday.
Leicester could be set to hand a debut to summer signing of Thomas Cannon at the Riverside on the weekend, with the £7.5m striker finally recovering from a back injury which was discovered in the forward's medical ahead of his move from Everton in August.
With the Irishman unlikely to feature from the start, Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho will battle it out for the central-striking role in the Foxes' XI, and it is the Nigerian who should be included in the side.
Maresca has discussed in detail how his team are missing the presence of left-footed defender Callum Doyle, and with the 20-year-old still out due to a knee injury, James Justin will start at left-back once again for the visitors.
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Dieng; Van den Berg, Fry, McNair, Engel; Howson, Hackney, Jones, Greenwood, Crooks, Coburn
Leicester City possible starting lineup:
Hermansen; Pereira, Faes, Vestergaard, Justin; Winks, Dewsbury-Hall, Choudhury; Mavididi, Fatawu; Iheanacho
We say: Middlesbrough 1-2 Leicester City
Middlesbrough have struggled defensively since returning from October's international break, and the visit of the division's most-potent attack will ask plenty of questions of the Boro backline.
Leicester were unable to breach a stubborn Leeds side after the Whites went ahead at the King Power, but Maresca's men should fare well against a Middlesbrough team who like to take risks offensively.
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Top tip
Carter White
