Bristol City welcome Middlesbrough to Ashton Gate on Tuesday night, having lost their 100% record away to Barnsley on the weekend.
Middlesbrough extended their unbeaten run to four matches, after holding high-flying Reading at home to a 0-0 draw.
Match preview
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City came from behind to lead 2-1 away to lowly Barnsley on the weekend, only to concede a penalty 12 minutes into added time.
Two goals in four minutes from Jack Hunt and Tyreeq Bakinson looked to be enough for City, but Barnsley's marksman Cauley Woodrow converted the penalty to leave City with only a point to take back to the West Country.
Remarkably, it means that six of the past nine meetings between those two teams have finished 2-2.
The Robins will go into Tuesday night's fixture all too aware of the challenge that Middlesbrough pose having witnessed them halt the progress of their nearest challengers Reading.
Nevertheless, City sit top of the table with 13 points from five games played, with only goals scored separating themselves and Reading.
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Boro were able to go toe-to-toe with promotion chasers Reading for long periods of that game, and will be looking to continue their resolute form away to City.
Boro claimed their first clean sheet of the season at home to Reading which will please Neil Warnock, however he will feel they could have stolen all three points late on after Jonny Howson had a shot cleared off the line and a goal disallowed.
That said, Warnock will be pleased his side were able to compete with one of the division's form teams and will be hoping for more of the same on Tuesday night.
Boro sit 14th in the table, despite only one win so far this season, but three points could take them into contention for a playoff spot, where they will hope to position themselves for the remainder of the season.
Bristol City Championship form: WWWWD
Bristol City form (all competitions): WWLWWD
Middlesbrough Championship form: LDDWD
Middlesbrough form (all competitions): LLDDWD
Team News
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Dean Holden seemingly will not have any injury concerns to worry him ahead of this one, however he may look to rotate his starting lineup due to the busy fixture schedule ahead.
Holden will be buoyed by the return to first-team action for Tomas Kalas, and will need to decide whether his captain is ready to start on Tuesday night against his former club.
After having to settle for a spot on the bench on Saturday, new signing Patrick Roberts will hope to gain a starting berth against City.
Boro skipper Britt Assombalonga was withdrawn at half time on the weekend, with Warnock yet to confirm whether his marksman was suffering from an injury or if it was a tactical decision. If the former, Roberts could be asked to play off fellow recent signing Chuba Akpom.
Ashley Fletcher remains sidelined with a shoulder injury.
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
Bentley; Vyner, Moore, Mawson; Hunt, Paterson, Bakinson, Weimann, Rowe; Wells, Martin
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Bettinelli; McNair, Fry, Dijksteel; Morsy, Saville, Tavernier, Howson, Bola; Akpom, Assombalonga
We say: Bristol City 1-1 Middlesbrough
A well-drilled Boro side will travel to Bristol in hope of getting a result, and although City sit top of the table, we expect that Boro could well get their wish. Having blunted some of the most eye-catching forward lines in the league so far this season, Boro will be hard to break down and we predict that the spoils will be shared.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a home win or an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home/Away:dataData 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 Bristol City win with a probability of 41.06%. A win for Middlesbrough had a probability of 31.65% and a draw had a probability of 27.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bristol City win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.55%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.48%) and 2-0 (7.58%). The likeliest Middlesbrough win was 0-1 (9.83%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.91%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 9.8% likelihood.
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