Bristol City and Middlesbrough square off in the Championship on Saturday afternoon looking for the win that will take them closer to the playoff spots.
These two teams are separated in the standings by just one position and two points, while they are each on two-game undefeated runs.
Match preview
© Reuters
Even with a two-week break, Bristol City face somewhat of a transitional period for the foreseeable future with Liam Manning having been appointed as their new boss.
Nevertheless, with two clean sheets in succession since Nigel Pearson's departure, Manning and supporters will feel that there is already something to work with.
The shutouts in question have come versus the division's bottom-two clubs in Sheffield Wednesday and Queens Park Rangers, and just one goal has been netted at the other end.
However, Bristol City have gone two games without defeat for the first time since the middle of September, keeping them within four points of the top six.
As mentioned, though, goals remain an issue as Bristol City have not netted more than twice in a match in nine second-tier encounters.
Opponents Middlesbrough are generally regarded as one of the form teams in the division, a consequence of winning seven of their last nine outings in the Championship.
That said, only one point had been collected against Stoke City and Plymouth Argyle respectively before they posted a 1-0 success against leaders Leicester City before the international break.
Boro have netted just seven times at the Riverside Stadium, but it is a different story on their travels, a total of 16 strikes being scored in eight games.
With Bristol City prevailing in just three of their eight games at Ashton Gate, Michael Carrick will be confident of returning to the North East with maximum points.
Team News
© Reuters
Rob Atkinson and Joe Williams are among the players who may return to the Bristol City squad after injury.
However, Manning is expected to keep changes to a minimum, with Sam Bell the most likely to be recalled ahead of Anis Mehmeti on the flank.
Barring any injury issues, Carrick could select the Boro starting lineup from the victory over Leicester.
Isaiah Jones is one yellow card away from a ban, but he will retain his spot on the right flank ahead of a number of challengers for that role.
Darragh Lenihan has recently been ruled out for the season, and none of the other absentees are expected to make a return.
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
O'Leary; Tanner, Vyner, Dickie, Pring; James, Knight; Sykes, Weimann, Bell; Conway
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Dieng; Van den Berg, Fry, McNair, Engel; Howson, Hackney; Jones, Crooks, Greenwood; Coburn
We say: Bristol City 1-2 Middlesbrough
This has all the makings of an intriguing contest, the assumption being that Middlesbrough will prevail and perhaps undermining the impact that Manning could have had over the past two weeks. We still think Boro will win, but in a close game that is decided by a late goal.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
