Image source, Rex Features

Middlesbrough's hopes of getting themselves into the automatic promotion hunt might not look great on paper.

The Teessiders are 12 points off second place with 21 games to play. However, Boro are the division's second-highest scorers after leaders Leeds and have the squad to put a run together.

Perhaps that started with their last minute 1-0 win at struggling Hull City on Wednesday and they'll need to back that up today at home to another side in the bottom three.

Cardiff battled to a point against Coventry on New Year's Day despite playing almost the whole second half with 10 men after Callum Robinson's sending off.

Image source, Getty Images

Both teams come into this fixture on the back of a positive Christmas schedule, which saw the Canaries and Sky Blues go unbeaten in their last three games.

The hosts have enjoyed a slightly better points return, taking seven from the last nine, and will look to build on their 1-0 win at Luton on New Year’s Day.

Star man Borja Sainz starts but Norwich might be without their top scorer for a while after he was handed an FA charge yesterday for alleged spitting. There was also a little transfer movement as Ashley Barnes departed and Lewis Dobbin joined on loan, external.

After a disappointing 4-1 defeat to Portsmouth on the Saturday before Christmas, Coventry have responded well with an emphatic win over Plymouth on Boxing Day followed by draws with Millwall and Cardiff.

But if they want to keep moving themselves away from danger then they will have to improve on a dire away record at Carrow Road which has seen the Sky Blues win just one of their last 17 – that came way back in February 2009.

John Bennett
Final Score at Hillsborough

Image source, Rex Features

This is a team struggling to keep clean sheets against a team struggling to score.

Alex Neil's taking charge of his second Millwall match aiming to dig them out of a slump of just one win in 10 and just one goal in 630 minutes of football.

Meanwhile, Sheffield Wednesday are back into play-off contention after three wins in five but they've conceded more goals than any other team in the top half.

Millwall keeper Lukas Jensen will be on high alert because Josh Windass starts for the home side after his 50-yard wonder goal on New Year’s Day.

Image source, Rex Features

Josh Windass grabbed plenty of headlines with a stunning goal from his own half – 62.2 yards out to be exact - in Sheffield Wednesday’s win over Derby on New Year’s Day.

The goal of the season contender was his fifth strike in as many games and the in-form Owls hitman has moved third in the league top scorer charts with 10, behind only Borja Sainz and Josh Maja.

One man who is hoping he doesn’t make it six from six is Millwall’s new boss Alex Neil who tasted defeat in his opening game as manager as the Lions began 2025 with a defeat to Oxford.

The Scot has been brought in to turn around the fortunes of a side that has won only one of their last 10 matches.

That being said, it’s not like they are getting thumped as Millwall’s games don’t tend to provide too many goals. They are the joint-lowest scorers in the league but only four teams have a better defensive record.

Ben Croucher
Final Score at Deepdale

Image source, Ben Croucher

Moor Park, opposite Deepdale, is more swamp than park, an indication of just how much rain the North West has dealt with in the new year.

Fortunately the Preston pitch is pristine, and the home side, unbeaten in their last six here, will put that run to the test against a buoyant Oxford United.

Victory today would lift them above their opponents and likely further clear of that dreaded drop zone.

Image source, Rex Features

Of all the oddest stats for today's games few stand out quite as much as Oxford boss Gary Rowett's record against Preston North End.

The experienced Championship gaffer has faced the Lancashire side on 14 occasions in the league with Birmingham, Derby, Stoke and Millwall and NEVER lost.

He will be hopeful of making it 15 unbeaten given his tremendous start to life as Oxford boss, with three wins from his first three matches.

Preston's recent good run was dented by a 3-1 reverse at West Brom on New Year's Day but they're still in good shape after a poor start to the season.

They're unbeaten in their past six league games at home, albeit four of those have ended up tied.

Image source, Rex Features

Liam Manning wants Bristol City to "continue building" on their good home form when they face Derby.

The Robins are unbeaten in their past four games at Ashton Gate and have conceded just one goal and scored nine in that run. In 2024 only Leeds and West Brom kept more home clean sheets than City's nine.

They take on the Rams - who beat them 3-0 in the reverse fixture in August - following two wins and a last-gasp draw in their three games over the Christmas period, picking up seven points from nine to move within five points of the play-off places

"We have to keep making it a hard place for teams to come," Manning told BBC Radio Bristol.

He said he was "disappointed" to not have taken maximum points over Christmas, following Plymouth scoring a 91st-minute equaliser, but added: "You can't afford to carry any hangover, we haven't got time to do it and we shouldn't because we're performing well," Manning added.

The Robins have won five of their past seven league games against the Rams, who lost 4-2 at Sheffield Wednesday on New Year's Day and have taken only seven points from 13 games on the road this season, and one from their past four.

Image source, Rex Features

Today's 3pm kick-offs are just around the corner...

Today

Bristol City v Derby

Hull City v Leeds

Middlesbrough v Cardiff

Norwich v Coventry

Preston v Oxford United

Sheffield Wednesday v Millwall

Watford v Sheffield United

Tomorrow

Sunderland v Portsmouth

Monday

QPR v Luton (20:00 GMT)

Image source, Opta

That win for Burnley didn't make much of a statement in terms of aesthetics but it's the three points that matter and they have taken the Clarets level with Leeds who kick off against Hull City in around 25 minutes.

Not forgetting Sheffield United, of course, who will want to at least keep pace and potentially close the gap should Leeds slip up. The Blades take on Watford.

West Brom, meanwhile, hold onto sixth place but could have taken fifth had they seen the game out against Swansea.

Mike Pejic
Former Stoke defender on BBC Radio Stoke

It has been rather frustrating, but you have to give credit to Plymouth their work rate. They were covering positions, their recovery and their backing each other up.

They fought for every ball going and in the end at times they caught Stoke on the counter but for a poor touch or a poor final pass they could have made their breakthrough.

Plymouth frustrated Stoke, they held their back line and crowded the penalty area and they threw their bodies on it and they blocked everything necessary.

Glen Little
Ex-Burnley winger on BBC Radio Lancashire

A big win and the game played out exactly how we said it would. It could have been a 0-0 or 1-0 either way. On reflection a draw would have been a fair result.

But it was a big win, with it being a derby game as well.

Image source, Rex Features

Plymouth battle to just their third away point of the season, and their first away clean sheet since April. Small building blocks.

Tom Cannon spurned chances for the hosts in either half and Greens keeper Conor Hazard denied Junior Tchamadeu, but in truth the Potters never did quite enough to test the keeper or open up the dogged, but often frantic and ragged defence.

Not a game which will be remembered for long or spoken about again, I suspect, but Mark Robins' tenure at Stoke starts with a frustrating stalemate, but with a third straight clean sheet.

Burnley are not being shy about celebrating this one with their travelling support.

How vital could this victory prove to be in their hunt for an immediate return to the Premier League?

That Joe Allen equaliser was pretty much the last action of the game.

Swansea will be delighted with a point given how that game panned out. West Brom will feel the opposite emotion of course having gone 1-0 up through Tom Fellows after 66 minutes and appearing to be seeing the game out with ease.

The point moves the hosts up one place to 11th and West Brom stay in sixth ahead of the afternoon fixtures.

Both sides are in FA Cup action away to Premier League opposition next weekend, with Swansea heading to Southampton and the Baggies travelling to Bournemouth.

Conor Hazard, the Argyle keeper, comes off his line to try to claim a high cross, getting clattered in the process and earning his side a free-kick.

Groans from the home fans who suspect it means he'll take an age to restart the game.

The seconds are ticking by. Very fast for Potters fans, agonisingly slowly for the Pilgrims faithful.

Julio Pleguezuelo was the Argyle hero on Wednesday in stoppage time and he might have repeated the trick here, drifting to the back post to meet a deep free-kick into the Potters box, only for his first touch to be heavy and take the ball through to keeper Viktor Johansson.

Heads in hands for the defender. He knows a better touch and he'd have had the chance to seal an historic and unlikely victory.

Image source, Rex Features

Burnley take the east Lancashire derby day spoils once more.

The Clarets stretch their unbeaten record in this match to 10 league games.

There was precious little between the two teams but Zian Flemming popped up with the one moment of quality when he steamed in to head home Bashir Humphrey's ball from the left.

The home side probed for a leveller but never really got the better of the Clarets defence, Lewis Baker heading wide with their best chance.

Scott Parker's men are level on points with league leaders Leeds and have kept 17 clean sheets in 25 games.

Into SIX minutes of added time. You can imagine what the Plymouth fans think of that...

Andy Bayes
BBC Radio Lancashire commentator

A trickle of Blackburn Rovers supporters heading to the exits, has now become a torrent.