A first defeat in 16 matches saw Boro slump behind their promotion rivals on Saturday and Aitor Karanka's players will be looking for redemption against Nottingham Forest.
Boro sit fourth in the Championship table and three points off leaders Bournemouth, but will still be fancied to heap more misery on Stuart Pearce's under-achieving side.
Forest themselves have only won twice in their last 15 matches and sit seven points of the play-off pace, meaning only a sudden upturn in form will see their top six hopes kept alive.
The Teessiders have an impressive Boxing Day record in recent years, and with more than 30,000 expected at the Riverside, Boro will be roared on by the biggest home crowd of the season so far.
Here's all you need to know ahead of the game:
Injury news
Defender Ryan Fredericks (thigh) remains on the treatment table and looks set to miss all of Boro’s festive programme.
Jonathan Woodgate (hamstring) and Rhys Williams (Achilles) are both back in full training, but Damia Abella and Mustapha Carayol (both cruciate) will be out until the New Year.
Ryan FredericksForest striker Dexter Blackstock is a major doubt after picking up a knock against Leeds United, while winger Tom Ince has been recalled by parent club Hull City.
The game will also come too soon for Jack Hobbs (ankle), while Andy Reid (groin) and Chris Cohen (knee) are out.
The thoughts of the boss
"Nottingham Forest will be a big test and a nice test for us.
"Ipswich was a very bad game. I was angry afterwards because I didn’t like anything I’d seen on the pitch.
"I’ve heard that it’s going to be close to 30,000 tickets sold against Forest and people are excited about the game.
"I know how important these games are in this league, and I’d like to repeat the same (win) as we did last season. I’ll make sure our attitude is perfect.
Aitor Karanka watches on at Portman Road"Forest started very well at the beginning of the season so I thought they were going to be better than where they are now, but I’m not making a mistake thinking they are a bad team.
"They are a very good team, and if we think that the game is going to be an easy game, we are very wrong.
"It’s going to be a tough game because they have a very good team with good players."
Opposition's view
Winger Michail Antonio insists Nottingham Forest are focusing on themselves rather than worrying about the Championship table.
Stuart Pearce’s men lost further ground to the division’s early pacesetters after a 1-1 home draw with Leeds.
Action Images 
Nottingham Forrest manager Stuart Pearce
"The Championship is unpredictable - everything always chops and changes,” Antonio told the club’s website.
"We could win four games in a row and get straight back in (the play-off positions).
"We can’t really look at the points right now – not even half of the season has gone yet. We’ve just got to concentrate on ourselves."
Their man in the know - Paul Taylor, Nottingham Post
"Forest started really well this season but will be massively disappointed by the way they’ve dropped off recently.
"It’s only two wins in the last 15 now which isn’t great. They’ve been unfortunate in a couple of games, and on Saturday against Leeds they played well and could have won 5-1.
"Their goalkeeper made a couple of good saves and Forest had two goals disallowed.
"The expectation remains for Forest to break into the top six this season, and if they don’t then the manager could find himself under pressure."
Who's the danger man?
Congolese striker Britt Assombalonga may have arrived at the City Ground with a hefty £5.5m price tag - but he has taken little time to hit the ground running.
The 22-year-old, pictured left, has already scored 12 goals for his new employers after making the move from Peterborough United.
Action Images 
Britt Assombalonga
However, his absence from the starting line-up during Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Leeds United was a huge surprise, and he has now gone three games without finding the net.
His last goal for Forest was a late consolation in the 2-1 loss at Birmingham, but with Dexter Blackstock a doubt, expect Assombalonga to lead the line at the Riverside on Friday.
What's the form?
Boro were comprehensively beaten at Ipswich and boss Aitor Karanka will be demanding his side bounce back with the same zest as after the last set-back.
They were turned over at Wolves in October and bounced back with a seven game unbeaten run that featured four wins and three draws and took bubbling Boro up to joint top of the table.
They also responded in style to back to back defeats at home in August to Sheffield Wednesday and Reading to put together an eight game unbeaten sequence at the Riverside.
Boro have won four and drawn four since then and have emphatically beaten promotion rivals Brentford 4-0, Derby 2-0 and drew with table-topping Bournemouth in a cagey affair as the sides cancelled each other out.
In that run Boro have scored 15 and leaked just three and have kept five clean sheets so they will be confident.
After an emotion-fuelled flying start on the return of club legend Stuart Pearce, Forest’s fire has fizzled out.
Forest won five of the first six to take up their usual tags of promotion favourites before stuttering through a run of nine without a win that saw them slip into the bottom half.
They stopped the slide with impressive back-to-back wins over then top six sides Wolves and Norwich but since have failed to push on.
A defeat at Birmingham was followed by three draws on the spin that produced just one goal - although that was in a 1-1 at home to Leeds that left them frustrated at having two efforts harshly ruled out for offside.
BORO’S LAST FIVE
Dec 20 (a) IPSWICH L 0-2
Dec 13 (h) DERBY W 2-0
Dec 6 (a) MILLWALL W 5-1
Nov 29 (h) BLACKBURN D 1-1
Nov 22 (a) WIGAN D 1-1
Last five homes: W 2-0, D 1-1, D 0-0, W 4-0, D 1-1
FOREST’S LAST FIVE
Dec 20 (h) LEEDS D 1-1
Dec 13 (a) ROTHERHAM D 0-0
Dec 6 (h) CHARLTON D 0-0
Nov 29 (a) BIRMINGHAM L 1-2
Nov 22 (a) WOLVES W 3-0
Last five aways: D 0-0, L 1-2, W 3-0, L 0-3, L 1-3
Daniel Ayala in action for Boro at IpswichBoth shirts
The following have played for both Boro and Forest: Daniel Ayala, Viv Anderson, Patrick Bamford, Nick Barmby, Mikkel Beck, George Boateng, Kris Boyd, Nathaniel Chalobah (pictured), Tim Coleman, Colin Cooper, Mark Crossley, David Currie, Peter Davenport, Robert Earnshaw, Phil Gilchrist, Jonathan Greening, Jack Hall, Bert Hasell, Sam Jennings, Mike Kear, Marlon King, Dimitrios Konstantopoulos, Brian Laws, Dick Le Flem, Richard Liburd, Arthur Lightening, Peter McCracken, Ishmael Miller, Thomas Niblo, Isaiah Osbourne, Mark Proctor, Dale Roberts, Paul Smith, James Suddick, John Surtees, Norman Thompson, Walter Tinsley, Andy Todd, Colin Walsh, Paul Wilkinson, Alan Wright.
Coaching connections: Brian Clough, Bob Dennison, Jimmy Gordon, Steve McClaren, Peter Taylor, Colin Todd.
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