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Two clubs relegated from the Premier League last season meet at the Riverside, and neither of them have had the campaign they wished for since dropping back into the second tier.

Middlesbrough dispensed with Garry Monk in December, but new boss Tony Pulis has only taken 10 points from his eight league games in charge - and Boro are now five points off the play-offs.

It's been an even worse time at Hull City, who are 21st and only a point above the relegation zone.

Nigel Adkins hasn't had much of a new manager bounce since replacing Russian Leonid Slutsky, but the Tigers did win their last league game 2-0 at Nottingham Forest.

The visitors will be hoping to record back-to-back league wins for the first time this season.

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Brentford will be aiming to breathe new life into their play-off bid after ending a three-match winless run at lowly Sunderland on Saturday.

The Bees started the day 10th, six points off sixth-placed Bristol City.

Meanwhile, Birmingham are looking over their shoulders after back-to-back defeats left the Blues two points above the relegation zone.

Harlee Dean, Maxime Colin and Jota all make their return to Griffin Park after leaving the Bees to join Birmingham last summer.

Centre-back Dean captains the Blues and right-back Colin starts, while Jota is on the bench.

They could get a mixed reception from the home fans.

New Barnsley boss Jose Morais takes charge of the Tykes for a first time after joining on an 18-month deal last week.

The 52-year-old, who has worked with Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Chelsea, replaced Paul Heckingbottom at Oakwell.

Morais, who has held head coach spells in Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey and Greece, could do with getting off to a good start.

The Tykes are 22nd in the table, a point from safety and two ahead of bottom club Burton, having won one of their last 16 in the Championship.

Brewers boss Nigel Clough will be hoping to break a personal duck - he has never won a Championship match in five previous visits to Oakwell.

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There's only one game directly affecting the promotion race this evening, and it takes place at Villa Park.

Without top scorer Albert Adomah and the influential Jack Grealish, Aston Villa saw their seven-match winning streak ended at Fulham on Saturday - but they can move back into second place if they beat play-off chasing Preston.

Alex Neil's Lilywhites are making a charge for the top six, having suffered just one defeat in their last 16 Championship games.

The visitors would move up to sixth, leapfrogging Bristol City, if they win by two goals this evening.

Here's the full run-down of this evening's fixtures in the Championship;

• Aston Villa v Preston North End (19:45 GMT)
• Barnsley v Burton Albion (19:45 GMT)
• Brentford v Birmingham City (19:45 GMT)
• Middlesbrough v Hull City (19:45 GMT)
• Millwall v Sheffield Wednesday (19:45 GMT)
• Nottingham Forest v Reading (19:45 GMT)
• Sheffield United v Queens Park Rangers (19:45 GMT)
• Bolton Wanderers v Sunderland (20:00 GMT)

With just one of the top six in action, tonight's key fixtures are at the wrong end of the table.

The bottom six sides in the Championship are separated by just four points, while Reading are two points further ahead of the current scrap.

Two matches today are classic six-pointers, as Bolton host Sunderland and Barnsley entertain Burton.

The Black Cats and the Brewers could both be cut adrift if they lose, although there is still a third of the campaign to go.

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Wolves may be closing in on promotion to the Premier League, but the scrap at the bottom of the Championship is far closer than the race for the title.

Tonight is mostly going to be about what's happening at the foot of the second tier.

We'll guide you through all the action, so settle down as we roll our sleeves up and prepare for the battle for survival to get messy.

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