Pick of the stats: Middlesbrough v Ipswich Town
- Published
The international break is finally over and the Championship weekend begins in style on Friday night as Middlesbrough welcome Ipswich to the Riverside (20:00 BST).
Rob Edwards' side will seek to get back on track after losing their unbeaten record and top-spot in the table last time out with a 1-0 defeat at Portsmouth on 4 October.
The Tractor Boys were 3-1 winners over Norwich in the East Anglian Derby the following day to jump up to ninth, but within striking distance of the top-three.
Middlesbrough failed to beat Ipswich in the last league season they played together in 2023-24 (D1 L1), after winning five of the previous seven encounters (D2).
Ipswich could win successive league games at Middlesbrough for the first time, after winning 2-0 on their last league visit in December 2023.
Middlesbrough, who went down last time out to Portsmouth, could lose successive league games for the first time since April, while they haven't failed to score in three successive league matches since April 2022 (run of four).
Only Coventry and Queens Park Rangers (both 11) have won more points in the Championship since the start of September than Ipswich (10), while they've scored 13 goals across their past five games since a 1-0 defeat to Preston North End.
Nine of Ipswich's past 12 Championship goals have been scored by either Jack Clarke (4) or Jaden Philogene (5) – Clarke has found the net in four of his past five games, with three of those coming as a substitute.