Middlesbrough have been running the fine line between possible playoff bid and relegation battle for some time, the North-East outfit still not recording back-to-back wins all season.
However, Neil Warnock will be thinking about the latter ahead of their meeting with Peterborough after witnessing Boro go down 2-0 at struggling Hull City.
Consistency and a lack of goals are the biggest issues with this Middlesbrough side, and they will find themselves pulled ever closer to the bottom three if they lose a third home fixture at the weekend.
In four of their last five setbacks, Warnock’s side have conceded decisive goals in the final 15 minutes, a trend which cannot continue if they want to move away from safety.
Warnock is also still waiting for one of his players to hit the back of the net on a regular basis, their 11 goals being shared between nine members of the squad.
On a positive note, Warnock will be encouraged that Boro are facing opponents in Peterborough who have lost each of their five away matches for the loss of 16 goals.
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Nevertheless, opposite number Darren Ferguson will feel equally optimistic that a game at the Riverside Stadium is the ideal setting to end that streak.
Ferguson was left bitterly disappointed with his side conceding an 84th-minute winner to Bristol City last time out, but there were enough positives in that game to take into this contest.
Sammie Szmodics netted his first two goals of the season during that encounter, surely doing enough for a permanent place in the team in the absence of Jonson Clarke-Harris.
