Form and context

Middlesbrough sit top of the Championship and are unbeaten in their past 10 league games (W6 D4). Charlton are 19th and winless in nine league games, having taken just one point from their past four away matches. Boro's last outing was a 5-1 win at Bolton in all competitions, while Charlton lost 3-1 at home to Norwich in all competitions.

Team news

• Middlesbrough: David Strelec is back in full training and in contention to face Charlton after missing the last four games through injury. Alfie Jones remains out with an ankle injury and is still "some weeks" away from a return.
• Charlton: No confirmed team news yet.

What the numbers say

• Middlesbrough have won 10 of their past 14 league games against Charlton (D2 L2), keeping six clean sheets in the past 10.
• Charlton won this exact fixture 1-0 last season and are chasing successive away league wins over Boro for the first time since April 1965.
• Boro have scored 27 goals in their opening 12 league games, their most at this stage since 1959-60.
• Charlton sit 23rd in the xG standings and average 2.6 shots on target per game, the worst in the division.

Our view

The table and the recent records point one way. Middlesbrough are scoring freely and unbeaten in the league, while Charlton have not won since August and struggle to create clear chances. The main question is whether the visitors can frustrate Boro, as they did in last season's 1-0 win at the Riverside.

Most likely outcome: home win - Boro's long unbeaten league run and Charlton's nine-game winless streak make the home side clear favourites.