Middlesbrough host Hull City at the Riverside Stadium on Monday (Watch live, 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN and online via NBCSports.com) in a crucial game between two teams fighting for survival in the Premier League.
It is not too early to call this a relegation six pointer up in the north east of England on what will be a chilly December night close to the North Sea.
In team news Boro make once change to the team which drew at Leicester as Viktor Fischer comes in for Adama Traore.
Hull make five changes to this side which beat Newcastle United on penalty kicks in the EFL Cup quarterfinals last week with Ryan Mason, Michael Dawson and David Marshall coming back into the starting lineup.
LINEUPS
Middlesbrough: Valdes; Barragan, Gibson, Chambers, Fabio; Clayton, De Roon, Forshaw; Fischer, Ramirez, Negredo. Subs: Guzan, Nsue, Bernardo, Leadbitter, Traore, Downing, Stuani
Hull City: Marshall; Elmohamady, Davies, Dawson, Robertson; Snodgrass, Clucas, Livermore, Mason, Henriksen; Diomande. Subs: Jakupovic, Maguire, Meyler, Huddlestone, Weir, Tymon, Bowen
