Middlesbrough have had a drastically different season this time around as relegation to Sky Bet League One is a distinct possibility.

Boro occupy the final spot in the bottom three currently but are just a solitary point behind Stoke City as they look to escape from a car crash of a season. 12 months ago, Tony Pulis was gearing Middlesbrough up for an assault on the play-offs - they would just miss out on the final day to Derby County.

Now, Middlesbrough could well be on their way to the third tier of English football for the first time since the mid-eighties.

Jonathan Woodgate certainly faces a challenge to retain Boro’s status as a Championship side for next season.

Here are three factors that will define their season from here..

Beating Charlton

A huge six-pointer down at the bottom of the Sky Bet Championship takes place at The Valley this weekend as Middlesbrough are in town, looking build on their impressive performance against Nottingham Forest on Monday night. Boro had lost their last three games in the league (prior to Forest) but could ease their fears of relegation slightly by collecting all three points in the capital on Saturday.

Woodgate will be hoping to complete a double over the Addicks following their 1-0 success at the Riverside earlier in the campaign. George Saville’s strike in the first minute was enough to secure all three points that day.

A win for Boro could not only see them come out of the bottom three, but also dump Charlton into it.

Hitting the target

Middlesbrough have seriously struggled to score enough goals this season. During the course of February, Woodgate’s side were able to hit the back of the net just twice in four games which is just one of the reasons as to why they are the lowest scoring teams in the league.

Ashley Fletcher has scored 10 goals this season which equals to 27% of the goals that Boro have scored, with only Lewis Wing and Britt Assombalonga being the others to have scored more than five for the Teessiders.

Rudy Gestede returned to the starting eleven on Monday night and justified his selection with a header that cancelled out Ryan Yates’ earlier strike. Should the French striker have a run of games in the side and contribute to the scoresheet, Boro's relegation fears could considerably shrink.

Away form

The last time Middlesbrough won on the road was all the way back on New Year’s Day as they picked up all three points at play-off chasing Preston North End. Goals from strikers Gestede and Fletcher either side of half time saw Woodgate’s side pick up a rare away win.

Since their success in Lancashire, they have picked up just one point from an available twelve away from the Riverside Stadium with that coming in a draw with fellow strugglers Wigan Athletic. With six of Middlesbrough’s final ten games away from home, Woodgate’s side will have to find a way of accumulating points on the road rather quickly.