Middlesbrough's chances of reaching the Championship play-offs have been affected by a series of three losses in four games, and they cannot afford another mistake this weekend.
Boro's 2-1 defeat at Sheffield Wednesday in their last match placed them three points behind the top six with two games left, making Saturday's home game against Norwich City a crucial one.
Norwich City has experienced a turbulent conclusion to the season, parting ways with manager Johannes Hoff Thorup following Monday's 3-1 loss to Millwall – another team aiming for a play-off spot.
Team news
Middlesbrough are expected to be without Luke Ayling, Alex Bangura, Seny Dieng, Neto Borges, Sol Brynn, and Liverpool loanee Ben Doak due to injuries.
Defender Darragh Lenihan rejoined the squad for Monday's defeat at Hillsborough.
Norwich City goalkeeper Angus Gunn is likely to miss out, along with Lewis Dobbin, Gabriel Forsyth, Lucien Mahovo, and Ben Chrisene.
Ante Crnac (ankle) will undergo assessment, and Matej Jurasek is also uncertain.
The stats
Four of Middlesbrough's last six defeats ended with a 1-0 scoreline.
Boro has lost three of their last four league games.
Only two of Middlesbrough's 11 home victories this season included over 3.5 goals.
Norwich City has suffered defeats where both teams scored in six of their last eight league matches.
Both teams have scored in 10 of the Canaries' previous 12 games.
Norwich has been behind at half-time and full-time in five of their last seven matches.
Prediction
Narrow losses to Leeds, Millwall, and Sheffield Wednesday have left Middlesbrough's Championship play-off hopes beyond their control, but Michael Carrick's team is likely to push the teams above them.
A win against Norwich City at home would extend Boro's fight for a top-six finish to the last day, although they required a late penalty to secure a victory over bottom club Plymouth in their recent home match.
Both teams scored within the first 17 minutes before Tommy Conway's penalty secured a 2-1 win for Middlesbrough, who triumphed over QPR and Oxford by the same scoreline in March.
Opting for Boro to win and both teams to score seems appealing when hosting vulnerable visitors Norwich.
Norwich parted ways with manager Thorup after a 5-3 defeat at home against Portsmouth and a 3-1 loss at Millwall on Monday.
The defeat at The Den marked the fifth occasion in seven games where Norwich lost with both teams scoring, and interim manager Jack Wilshere may find it challenging to address their defensive problems in training this week.
Middlesbrough cannot afford to lose points, giving the Canaries opportunities to counter, but their defense is unlikely to hold strong against the motivated hosts.