Buoyant Boro will be looking to continue their hot streak as they face Queens Park Rangers

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Two of the Championship’s form sides will clash in a game that has the potential to drastically influence one of the closest promotion races that has been seen in recent years.

Middlesbrough face Queens Park Rangers at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium in a crucial midweek matchup. Having come down from their tremendous FA Cup high in Manchester on Friday night, Chris Wilder’s side must strike whilst the iron is hot and overcome an in-form Rs team if they want to break into the top six.

They dispatched Manchester United last weekend in the Fourth Round of the oldest cup competition in the world as a controversial strike from Matt Crooks cancelled out Jadon Sancho’s opener and took the tie to penalties. Boro won the subsequent shootout 8-7 to knock out one of the tournament favourites.

This impressive triumph did not come out of nowhere either as the Teesside outfit had avoided defeat in nine of their 10 previous matches. Wilder’s work at Boro has been commendable, to say the least, as they were languishing in 14th with a play-off place seeming an unachievable feat under the leadership of Neil Warnock.

They now sit seventh level on points with sixth-placed West Brom, with an extra game in hand on those above them, as the 54-year-old manager has only been defeated twice since his appointment in November.

Middlesbrough will also be boosted by the return of 23-year-old midfielder Riley McGree, who has finished his isolation period after testing positive for COVID-19 whilst out on international duty with Australia.

Their London-based counterparts were cast contrasting fortunes in the cup last weekend but have boasted similarly impressive league results since the turn of the year.

Mark Warburton’s side were dumped out of the cup by Peterborough United thanks to goals from Joe Ward and Ricky Jade-Jones but will be looking to extend their unbeaten run in the second tier in midweek.

This run of form has propelled them into fourth place, taking advantage of their promotion rivals’ shortcomings and gradually reducing the gap. Currently, the Rs sit level of points with AFC Bournemouth in third and just two points behind Blackburn Rovers in second, so a victory could see them penetrate the top two for the first time since August.

The pair last met on matchday three with QPR taking the spoils in an enthralling encounter at the Riverside. An early Uche Ikpeazu penalty gave the hosts the lead, but the visitors had turned the game on its head by the hour-mark. Middlesbrough then drew level through Crooks but the Rs regained their advantage just four minutes later as star man Chris Willock netted the winner.

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