Middlesbrough make the trip to Deepdale to face Preston North End knowing that only three points will do if they want to retain a chance of qualifying for the Championship playoffs.Meanwhile,
the home side can still finish as high as 11th position in the standings, and Ryan Lowe will want to end the campaign with back-to-back victories.
Having gone five matches without success earlier in the run-in, it appeared that Middlesbrough had thrown away their chance of ending the season in the top six.
However, convincing home victories over Cardiff City and Stoke City have kept Chris Wilder’s side in the hunt, albeit remaining as outsiders with Sheffield United and Luton Town two points ahead.
Wilder will insist that his players must focus on their own performance and rightly so, Boro in a position where a two-goal victory and a Sheffield United draw against Fulham could see them edge out the Blades on goal difference or goals scored.
The latter would have seemed unlikely a few weeks ago, but five strikes have come in the last 180 minutes of action, the same total which had been netted in the previous six games.
Although efforts from the frontline remain in short supply, Riley McGree and Matt Crooks have recently chipped in with two apiece, and their contributions could prove key in the North West.
All things considered, Preston have been in the process of thinking about next season for several weeks, but that has not stopped Lowe from wanting to end the campaign on a high.
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That appeared to be in some doubt when shipping seven goals in defeats to Fulham and Blackburn Rovers, the latter particularly disheartening as the visitors cruised to three points in the derby.
However, Preston took advantage of playing an already-relegated Barnsley last time out, Daniel Johnson netting two of the goals as North End posted a 3-1 win at Oakwell.
Since his arrival in December, Lowe has collected 36 points from 24 games, suffering just six defeats in the process, and posting another win at the weekend would leave supporters feeling increasingly optimistic about their playoff chances in 2022-23.
