Preston are having a rough patch. They lost their last two games by heavy scores and look shaky at the back, though they did win a couple of games before that and drew one. Middlesbrough, on the other hand, are in better shape - they've won one and drawn several recent matches, and they've been scoring regularly while rarely losing badly. The two sides haven't met recently, so there's no history of high-scoring meetings to go on.

Overall, Middlesbrough look the stronger and more settled team right now, while Preston are struggling. The match could be fairly open, with Middlesbrough likely to come out on top.