MATCH PACK: Portsmouth
Middlesbrough 15th with 36 points v Portsmouth 7th with 57
Kick-off 3pm
THIS will be the 98th league meeting between the two sides. Boro have won 38 and Portsmouth 35, with 24 being drawn.
A win for Boro in their 250th league game at the Riverside would be their 100th in the Premier League and would preserve top flight status for an 11th successive season.
The game marks Gareth Southgate's 75th Premier League game in charge of Boro, while Harry Redknapp notches up the 150th over his two managerial spells at Fratton Park.
Last time Boro beat Portsmouth on Teesside was on December 3 1994, a 4-0 win with Craig Hignett and Paul Wilkinson bagging a brace each.
One day short of 55 years ago, Boro prevailed 4-1 at Fratton Park, a victory which, before this season, was the last time the Teessiders won at Portsmouth in the top flight.
If starting
Stewart Downing would continue his ever-present starting record for Boro this season and would be making his 150th career league appearance.
Injuries and suspensions
Gary O'Neil will miss the game against his former team and is out for the season after undergoing knee cartilage surgery. Also missing will be Mido (hernia) and Robert Huth (foot), but Mark Schwarzer should be available after responding to treatment to a back problem which has kept him out of the last two games.
Portsmouth are likely to be without David James, pictured above, who missed his first Premier League game for four and half years with a calf strain last weekend.
His replacement that day was Jamie Ashdown, who is himself not 100 percent fit. He only returned to training two days before the defeat at Blackburn and admitted his back was very stiff. It's likely he'll play against Boro.
The Form Book
In their last six games Boro have won one, lost three and drawn two, while Portsmouth have won three, drawn one and lost two.
Southgate's men have not kept a clean sheet since their 1-0 triumph over Derby County at the Riverside on March 22, which was their last win at the Riverside.
Pompey have won only once since their passage to the FA Cup final, a 1-0 win at West Ham which came just three days after overcoming Tony Mowbray's West Brom in the semi-final at Wembley on April 5.
Boro have gone 23 games since being involved in a goalless draw, while Portsmouth have partaken in two during the same period.
Middlesbrough have scored more than two goals in a game on only three occasions in their last 20 games, losing twice by the same scoreline, 3-2, and drawing one.
The south coast outfit have won two of their last five away games, while Boro have won three of the last ten matches at the Riverside.
Portsmouth have conceded 57% of their goals in the first half, while Boro have scored 61% of theirs before the break.
Boro will be looking for their first ever Premier League victory over Portsmouth on home soil.
Points of interest
Boro need to achieve maximum points from their final two games of the season in order to avoid their lowest ever total in the Premier League, 42.
That was reached twice before when finishing 14th in 2000/01 and 18th in 1996/97, the points tally before the infamous three-point deduction.
Portsmouth are undefeated in their last five games at the Riverside, drawing four of them. Boro have won just two of the last ten meetings on Teesside.
Only Chelsea have won more away games than Portsmouth's nine this season, yet in 15 of their 18 away games this season their opponents have won more corners.
Sulley Muntari, pictured above, has received three red cards this season, two in the league, the joint most this campaign, whereas Boro have the highest card count in the Premier League with 85, consisting of 83 yellows and two reds.
Boro would be two places and four points ahead of Portsmouth in eighth place in a league table be based solely on half-time scores.
Jermain Defoe, pictured below. has scored eight goals since his deadline-day transfer from Tottenham, one more than Boro's top scorer, Stewart Downing, has notched all season in Premier League football.
Opposition by numbers
3 - FA Cup final appearances, winning once.
7 - Number of wins on Teesside in the league.
13 - Number of years since Portsmouth haven't left Teesside with at least a point.
16 - Clean sheets this season for David James.
28 - Times beaten by Boro at Ayresome Park in all competitions.
62 - Goals scored by Portsmouth on Teesside, dating back to 1925.
110 - Years since formation.
834 - Appearances made by record-holder Jimmy Dickinson from 1946 to 1965.
Last time we met - December 29 2007
Portsmouth 0 Middlesbrough 1 (Tuncay 19)
A strong all-round performance topped with a Tuncay goal gave Boro a deserved win, their first in the top flight for 54 years at Fratton Park.
Portsmouth: James; Lauren, Campbell, Distin, Hreidarsson (Taylor 46), Benjani, Diop, Hughes (Muntari 72), Utaka (Nugent 62), Kranjcar, Kanu. Unused subs: Begovic (gk); Traore.
Middlesbrough: Schwarzer; Young, Woodgate, Huth, Pogatetz, O'Neil (Johnson 86), Arca (Capt), Shawky, Downing, Tuncay, Lee (Hutchinson 75). Unused subs: Turnbull (gk); Riggott, Grounds.
Referee Alan Wiley, Burntwood, Staffordshire.
Bookings
Portsmouth: Taylor, 87, foul.
Middlesbrough: O'Neil, 36, encroaching at free-kick; Woodgate, 69, foul; Young, 85, foul; Arca 90+2, foul.
Attendance: 20,089
Conditions: Bright, cold and blustery.
Website Boro Man of the Match: Robert Huth
Referee: Peter Walton, Northampton.
Mr Walton's last visit to the Riverside brought an extra-time FA Cup fifth round replay win over Sheffield United. Mr Walton showed more yellow cards, seven, in that game than in any other he has shown this season.
He has only shown seven cards in one other game, six yellows and a red as Chelsea edged past Everton in a Carling Cup semi-final at Stamford Bridge in early January.
In 42 games this season, Mr Walton has shown 126 yellow and five red cards.
Weather
A relatively warm day with sunny intervals and a maximum temperature of 18 and a minimum of 10 degrees is forecast.
Tickets
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Full coverage of the game will be available on Boro World. Right now on Boro World, exclusive interviews with Gareth Southgate, Stephen Pears, Andrew Taylor and Stewart Downing as well as the latest edition of Boro TV News.
