Hull striker Jay Simpson has overcome a chest infection, while Paul McShane could be available after a four-game absence with a hamstring injury.
Manager Nigel Pearson is hoping Daniel Ayala can prove his fitness in time following his hamstring strain.
MATCH PREVIEW
Middlesbrough are in the bottom three and have lost eight of their last 11 matches. Worryingly for the Teessiders, the recent appointment of Tony Mowbray has so far not brought about a change of fortune. Boro have lost three of their five games since Mowbray became manager, and have failed to score in their last two.
Hull, on the other hand, may have turned the corner after a miserable spell. City boss Nigel Pearson, who made over 100 appearances for Boro as a player, has seen his team record back-to-back victories. The Tigers have not won three in a row since the early stages of their 2008/09 Premier League campaign.
And after over a year of being abysmal away from home, City have been stuttering at the KC Stadium but are now unbeaten in their last three matches on the road, and won 2-0 at Preston in their last away match.
Pearson's side have scored only 15 Championship goals this season - fewer than any other team in the division - but their recent performances suggest they have more reason to be upbeat than Boro at the moment.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
• Middlesbrough have won 22 and Hull 13 of the 51 previous matches between these clubs.
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• Hull have lost on all but one of their 14 league visits to Teesside in the last 54 years.
Middlesbrough
• All of Middlesbrough's last six defeats have been by a single goal.
• No team have scored fewer second-half goals in the Championship this season than Boro, who have managed a mere eight.
• Gary O'Neil is hoping to make his 100th league start for the club.
Hull
• Championship matches involving Hull this season have produced only 36 goals - fewer than any other team's games.
• The Tigers are two goals away from their 3,000th in the second tier.
• Andy Dawson is set to make his 250th appearance for the club.
Source: BBC Sport
Source: BBC Sport