The top two sides in the Championship will go head to head this Saturday as second-placed Middlesbrough host league leaders Bournemouth at the Riverside.

Boro climbed into the automatic promotion places in style on Tuesday with a thumping 4-0 victory over fellow promotion hopefuls Norwich City.

They could complete a very successful week with three more points on Saturday having also cruised to a 3-0 win over Rotherham United last weekend, making it seven goals scored and none conceded in their last two games.

Aitor Karanka's side were tipped to push for the playoffs this season, but a run of just one defeat in their last 11 league matches has seen them rocket up into the top two.

That is the sort of consistency that they were sorely lacking last season, and Karanka will be hoping that they can pass another test of their promotion credentials this weekend.

Having made a relatively shaky start at home in the league, losing two of their opening three matches at the Riverside, Boro are now without a loss in five games, keeping three clean sheets and scoring 12 goals in that time.

Indeed, they boast the most formidable defence in the division so far, conceding just 12 goals in their 16 outings.

As a result, Karanka is unlikely to see any reason to change things at the back, while the four-goal haul against Norwich should also be enough for the rest of the side to remain untampered with.

Regardless of results elsewhere, if either side wins this match then they will end the weekend top of the pile, and that is the position Bournemouth surprisingly hold at the moment.

The Cherries are the form team in the country right now, winning six league matches in a row and seven in all competitions to storm to the top of the table.

Eddie Howe's side are beginning to establish themselves as genuine candidates for promotion and, while Saturday's match will be their sternest test yet in that remarkable winning run, they will go into the game bursting with confidence.

Bournemouth are the league's top scorers with 33 goals from their 16 outings - helped largely by an 8-0 drubbing of Birmingham City last month - while they have also kept four clean sheets in their last five Championship matches.

The latest of those came in a 2-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough on Tuesday, a result which gave Bournemouth their third away win on the trot.

Their stunning form may result in Howe naming an unchanged side for the fourth match in a row, meaning that Yann Kermorgant will once again be left out of the starting lineup.

Recent form

Middlesbrough: WWDLWW

Bournemouth: WWWWWW

Possible starting lineups

Middlesbrough: Konstantopoulos; Fredericks, Ayala, Gibson, Friend; Adomah, Leadbitter, Clayton, Tomlin; Bamford; Kike

Bournemouth: Boruc; Francis, Cook, Elphick, Daniels; Ritchie, Arter, Surman, Pugh; Pitman, Wilson

Sports Mole says: 2-2