Pick of the stats: Ipswich Town v Middlesbrough

[BBC]

Ipswich Town's quest for automatic promotion took a hit after Tuesday's shock 2-0 defeat at Portsmouth which meant the race for second place is back on.

The Tractor Boys currently occupy the second spot now only two points ahead of Millwall and three in front of both Southampton and Sunday's opponents (12:00 BST) Middlesbrough.

Pompey were also the side to deal a blow to Boro's top two hopes after Kim Hellberg's side fell to a 1-0 home defeat last Saturday, but Ipswich's defeat at Fratton Park leaves the door ajar.

With Boro picking up just one win in their past six games, three points at Portman Road could go a long way in securing a play-off place.

• Ipswich have won just one of their last 10 league games against Middlesbrough (D3 L6), a 2-0 away win in December 2023.

• Middlesbrough are unbeaten in their last four away league games against Ipswich (W2 D2), having been winless in their previous nine visits to Portman Road (D4 L5).

• Ipswich have lost the fewest home matches in the Championship this season (1/21), and are unbeaten in their last 15 home league games (W10 D5).

• Since the start of March, Middlesbrough have only scored 11 goals from 19 xG in the Championship – this is the biggest underperformance of any side in this period (-8). They failed to score in the defeat to Portsmouth last time out, despite having 20 shots and hitting the target eight times.

• Riley McGree has been directly involved in eight league goals for Middlesbrough this season (5 goals, 3 assists), and could equal both his most goals (6) and goal involvements (9) in a single Championship campaign (both from 2022-23).