Middlesbrough welcome Bolton Wanderers to the Riverside Stadium on Saturday afternoon, with both sides looking for their first three points of the Championship season.
Indeed, Middlesbrough and Bolton were involved in goalless draws on the opening weekend of the season; on Saturday, Bolton were held to a 0-0 draw by Derby County at the Macron Stadium, while Middlesbrough were involved in a televised stalemate against newly-promoted Preston North End the following day.
Team news
Aitor Karanka will be without defender Ben Gibson, who picked up a hamstring injury at the end of pre-season, so teenager Dael Fry could continue in his absence. New signings Diego Fabbrini and Cristhian Stuani are pushing for their first league starts in Middlesbrough colours after impressing in Wednesday's League Cup win away at Oldham Athletic.
30-year-old striker David Nugent goes straight into the squad, following his arrival from Leicester City on Friday.
Greek goalkeeper Dimi Konstantopoulos will return in goal in place of Tomas Mejias, despite Karanka admitting that he is looking to bring in a new keeper in the form of AC Milan stopper, Michael Agazzi.
Bolton will be without recently-appointed captain, Darren Pratley, after the midfielder sustained ankle ligament damage in the draw against Derby.
However, his midfield counterpart Jay Spearing will be available for selection, having served a one-match suspension following his sending off last weekend.
Defender Prince Desir Gouano is set to return to the fold for the Trotters, having missed Tuesday's League Cup defeat to Burton Albion through injury, though Liam Trotter will not feature due to a hamstring injury.
Former Middlesbrough man David Wheater and new signing Derik Osede remain on the sidelines, while forward Max Clayton is a few weeks away from a first-team return following a cruciate ligament injury he suffered in December.
American international Tim Ream is unlikely to start, after Bolton accepted a £1.75m bid from fellow Championship side Queens Park Rangers.
Head-to-head record
Bolton have the edge between the two sides historically, winning 51 games to Middlesbrough's 41 with a further 31 games ending in draws, since their first meeting in December 1889.
Last season, Boro took six points over the course of the two fixtures, with a Kike double securing a 2-1 win at the Macron Stadium last August. The last encounter between the two came in February, with the points staying on Teesside courtesy of recent stand-in captain Albert Adomah's winner on the 34th minute, securing a 1-0 win for the hosts.
The managers
Aitor Karanka expects a "difficult" encounter when Bolton make the trip to the North East on Saturday.
The Spaniard said in his pre-match press conference: "Bolton have good players, are organised, aggressive in the right way and will be difficult."
His opposite number, Neil Lennon, says that his side must take a different approach against the promotion favourites.
“Middlesbrough will be a completely different animal following on from Tuesday’s game,” the manager said in his pre-match press conference.
“They are one of the favourites for the Championship title and it’s their first home game of the season. It’s a difficult game for us, one in which we won’t be expected to win.
“We’re coming into the game off the back of two positive performances, but we’ll have to change our mindset a little bit given that we are away from home."