Newcastle manager Alan Shearer restored Michael Owen to the starting line-up for tonight’s must-win derby clash with Middlesbrough.

Middlesbrough defender Andrew Taylor returns to the squad for Monday night’s derby showdown with Newcastle after recovering from injury.

Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson rang the changes as he attempted to move a step closer to the Premier League title.

Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate will check on a series of minor knocks before naming his side to face Barclays Premier League leaders Manchester United tomorrow.

Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate will welcome midfielder Gary O'Neil back from suspension for Sunday's Barclays Premier League trip to Arsenal.

MIDDLESBROUGH have reached the stage where only miracles can save them.

Middlesbrough goalkeeper Brad Jones will face Fulham tomorrow despite dislocating his finger last week.

A quick straw poll of footballing opinion would doubtless reveal split opinions of Marlon King: those that dislike him and those that dislike him even more.

Middlesbrough skipper Emanuel Pogatetz has been ruled out for three weeks with a knee injury and will miss tomorrow’s Premier League match at home to Hull.

MIDDLESBROUGH are reaching the point of no return.

Bolton 4 Middlesbrough 1

Middlesbrough will be without suspended midfielder Matthew Bates for tomorrow’s Barclays Premier League trip to Stoke.

DAVID JAMES has seen almost everything during his long and colourful career, but the England goalkeeper still considers himself a novice when it comes to relegation battles.

Middlesbrough 1 Portsmouth 1

Middlesbrough defender Justin Hoyte is doubtful for tomorrow’s crucial Barclays Premier League clash against Portsmouth at the Riverside Stadium.

Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate has few new injury problems ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final trip to Everton.

Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate has named an unchanged squad for tomorrow night’s Barclays Premier League clash at Tottenham Hotspur.

Middlesbrough 2 Liverpool 0

Gareth Southgate has Marlon King available as the Middlesbrough manager bids to end a run of 14 Barclays Premier League games without a win against Liverpool tomorrow.

STEWART DOWNING turned in an inspired display as Middlesbrough shook off their relegation fears to book their place in the FA Cup quarter-finals for the fourth successive year.

Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate will be without midfielder Didier Digard for tomorrow night’s FA Cup fifth round replay with West Ham.

IT is still too early for frantic supporters to adopt the chewed-fingernail pose so beloved by macabre television companies, but already Middlesbrough is a club racked by fear.

Middlesbrough 2 Barrow 1

Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate is expected to give a number of squad players a rare start in tomorrow’s FA Cup third round tie against Barrow at the Riverside Stadium.

PAUL SCHOLES is confident Manchester United will benefit from a more “normal” second half to the season.

Defender David Wheater is set to return to the Middlesbrough starting line-up for Monday’s daunting trip to Old Trafford after sitting through his side’s defeat to Everton on the bench.

EVERTON boss David Moyes singled out 18-year-old debutant Dan Gosling for special praise as his injury-ravaged side secured their seventh away win of the season at the Riverside Stadium.

Everton manager David Moyes’ hopes of his side continuing their excellent away form today suffered a double blow with both Joseph Yobo and Leon Osman ruled out against Middlesbrough through injury.

Middlesbrough midfielder Gary O’Neil has a chance of being involved against Everton on St Stephen's Day after returning from injury.

JIMMY BULLARD is a man in demand.

Fulham 3 Middlesbrough 0

Middlesbrough midfielder Didier Digard is a major doubt for tomorrow’s Barclays Premier League trip to Fulham.

THE words were familiar, the speaker less so. “We have a young team and we do lack a bit of experience sometimes. We just have to stay strong at crucial moments.”

Middlesbrough 1 Arsenal 1

Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate is facing up to a defensive crisis as he prepares for Arsenal’s visit to the Riverside Stadium tomorrow.

PHIL BROWN may insist he has no interest in taking charge at Sunderland, but nobody would dare accuse English football’s most in-demand young manager of lacking ambition.

Hull 2 Middlesbrough 1

German defender Robert Huth returns to the Middlesbrough squad for tomorrow’s trip to Hull in the Barclays Premier League.

IT is always best to expect the unexpected at Newcastle United, so perhaps the notion of the club being hauled onto an even keel by Joe Kinnear — frozen out of football for four years, with question marks over his health and whose methods appeared to belong in football’s stone age — is not so surprising.

Middlesbrough 0 Newcastle 0

Striker Mido is back in contention for Middlesbrough’s Premier League derby against Newcastle at the Riverside Stadium tomorrow.

IT is proof positive of the Premier League’s febrile environment that, a month after Gary Megson was wondering whether he would still have a job in the new year, he is now making bold demands for funds for a January spending spree.

Emanuel Pogatetz and Mido have both been passed fit for Middlesbrough’s Barclays Premier League clash with Bolton at the Riverside tomorrow.