Leeds United's promotion bid in the Championship is back on track after two narrow wins over Bristol City and Reading in recent weeks. 

The Whites are next in action when they travel to the Riverside to take on Middlesbrough on Wednesday evening in a game they'll be expected to come away with three points from.

Boro have struggled in recent weeks, and now find themselves sat 20th in the Championship table, and are just three points clear of the relegation zone with 12 games remaining of this year's campaign.

Leeds reporter Joe Urquhart issued his thoughts ahead of the game on the Inside Elland Road Podcast recently, and has been concerned with the performances from Middlesbrough heading into the game against Marcelo Bielsa's men.

"They lost to Luton lasts weekend and lost to Barnsley this weekend so it’s not just that they lost to teams who are having good seasons or are unbeaten, they’ve lost to teams who are directly below them and that’s piled the pressure on.

"It’s the manner of the defeats as well. There’s no way that when you look at that squad that they should be where they are."

The reporter was quick to admit that Jonathan Woodgate's side to have quality in their side, but labelled the current situation at Middlesbrough as a 'crisis', with a tough run of fixtures still to come for the Championship strugglers.

"They’ve got quality and while we don’t watch them to pinpoint exactly what’s going wrong it does seem that there’s a bit of a crisis going on.

"One win in nine, no wins since New Years Day and three points off the relegation is not a place where anyone wants to be.

"They’ve got Leeds, Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday but it sounds like they’re in a bit of freefall."

Leeds are currently sat five points clear of third-placed Fulham in the second-tier standings, and will be hoping they can extend their advantage over their promotion-chasing rivals at the earliest of opportunities.

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The Verdict: 

Middlesbrough couldn't picked a worse time to play Leeds United.

Leeds have struggled earlier this year, but have shown improvement in their last two matches, after picking up two wins from their last two games against Bristol City and Reading.

But Middlesbrough have slipped back into contention to be relegated from the Championship this season, and they'll know that they have to be at their best if they're to come away with anything to show for their efforts against Marcelo Bielsa's side.

It's the sort of game that Leeds United simply have to come away with three points from if they're to strengthen their grip on an automatic promotion place.

I can't see anything but a convincing Leeds win on Wednesday evening, as they look to increase the pressure on Jonathan Woodgate's side.