Middlesbrough vs Everton. Premier League.
Riverside StadiumAttendance31,496.
Saturday 11 February 2017 15:16, UK
Gaston Ramirez is in contention to return for Middlesbrough when Everton visit the Riverside in the Premier League on Saturday.
The Uruguayan international joined his team-mates at their training camp in Spain in midweek after being given time off in the wake of Leicester's transfer interest.
Ramirez, who has missed the last six games due to a knee problem, has not featured since January 2, with Boro taking two points from a possible 12 in the league in his absence.
Meanwhile, Everton have lost just once in their last eight matches in all competitions - a home defeat to Leicester in the FA Cup.
That run has given Ronald Koeman's side a comfortable cushion in seventh in the table at kick-off, five points behind Manchester United in sixth and four ahead of West Brom in eighth.
Ramirez could return to the squad but George Friend remains a doubt with a calf injury. Fellow defender Antonio Barragan will sit out with a hamstring strain.
Everton manager Koeman has no new injury concerns so his main decisions ahead of the trip will be tactical.
Midfield is the greatest area of competition, with Idrissa Gueye not even getting off the bench for last weekend's 6-3 win over Bournemouth and impressive youngster Tom Davies restricted to a substitute role.
Mo Besic is still working his way back to fitness from a knee injury while teenage forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin is recovering from an ankle injury.
Middlesbrough have managed just one win in their last 12 Premier League games against Everton (D4 L7), with goals from Yakubu and Mark Viduka securing a 2-1 victory in October 2006.
The Toffees have kept clean sheets in three of their last four Premier League visits to the Riverside Stadium (L1), winning all three of those games.
In all competitions, Everton are on their best winning run against Boro since December 1931 (four wins in a row) - they have never won five consecutively against them.
Romelu Lukaku has scored in both of his previous appearances against Boro for Everton, scoring once in both a 2-0 win in the League Cup last season and a 3-1 Premier League victory earlier this campaign.
Lukaku - the Premier League's top scorer this season with 16 goals - has scored 59 league goals for Everton - just one shy of the club's record goalscorer in the competition (Duncan Ferguson, 60).
Everton have used the most teenagers in the Premier League this season (4), with Davies, Calvert-Lewin, Mason Holgate and Ademola Lookman all playing for the Toffees.
Boro have scored the fewest home league goals this season (11).
Middlesbrough have also attempted the fewest shots on target in the league this season (56) and are the only side to have failed to post a shot on target in more than one PL game in 2016-17 (2).
Everton are flying and Middlesbrough just don't seem to score enough goals, at home or away. Boro have to come out and try and win this game in front of their own fans. They are in a bit of trouble and teams are catching up with them.
That could be their undoing, though, chasing the game against this in-form Everton side could be very dangerous.
PAUL PREDICTS: 1-3 (18/1 with Sky Bet)
Everton are Sky Bet's 21/10 favourites with Middlesbrough 11/4 while the draw is priced at 9/4.
The Toffees remain 80/1 chances to gate-crash the top four despite their encouraging run, while Karanka's side were cut to 5/4 for relegation following their seven-match winless run.
Lukaku heads the first goalscorer betting at 7/2 and is 22/1 for another treble, while Alvaro Negredo is considered the hosts' main threat at 6/1.
