• Middlesbrough have won their last three Championship matches

• Preston have failed to score in their last three fixtures

• Recommended bet: Middlesbrough -1 on Asian handicap

Middlesbrough have rediscovered the winning habit and will be targeting a fourth straight Championship success when taking on Preston at the Riverside Stadium.

The battle for a top two finish is hotting up with Ipswich emerging as major contenders.

However, there are no signs of panic from Boro, who climbed back above the Tractor Boys on Wednesday with a 2-1 triumph at Stoke.

While automatic promotion is on Middlesbrough minds, the race for playoff places occupies Preston’s attention.

North End have held a top six position for large parts of the campaign but, after back-to-back league losses, they are in danger of falling off the promotion pace.

Paul Heckingbottom’s side faced a key test of their credentials at home to Hull on Tuesday and resoundingly failed as they slumped to a 3-0 defeat.

It was North End’s seventh league loss of the campaign and their first by a margin or more than one goal.

Team news

Middlesbrough continue to be short of options at centre-back with George Edmundsson (hip), Darragh Lenihan and Alfie Jones (both ankle) on the sidelines.

Goalkeeper Seny Dieng (Achilles) is a long-term absentee and David Strelec (ankle) has not featured this year.

Preston's Montenegrin striker Milutin Osmajic is about to start a suspension after his straight red card in the 3-0 loss at home to Hull.

Robbie Brady continues to recover from a long-term calf injury and Lewis Gibson (muscle strain) and Andrija Vukcevic (hamstring) remain unavailable.

The stats

Boro have scored at least two goals in five of their last seven home fixtures.

All of Middlesbrough's last four games have featured at least three goals.

Boro have won three of their last five home fixtures against Preston by at least two goals.

Preston have suffered three straight defeats.

North End have conceded the first goal in four of their last six fixtures.

The latest Middlesbrough vs Preston odds are available on LiveScore Bet

Prediction

Preston have built a reputation as a tough team to play against, but they were uncompetitive in their midweek loss against Hull and may struggle to avoid a similar outcome on Teesside.

The race for play-off places involves several teams and, on the evidence of recent weeks, it seems unlikely that Preston are going to last the course.

Paul Heckingbottom’s team have prided themselves on being well-organised and ultra-competitive but were neither of those things on Tuesday as they were turned over by the Tigers.

And, after such a poor performance, the last thing they need is a fixture against one of the top teams in the division.

Middlesbrough are high on confidence after away wins at Stoke (2-1) and West Brom (3-2) and they can prevail over Preston by at least a couple of goals.

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The latest Middlesbrough vs Preston odds are available on LiveScore Bet