Given City's current woes and the increasing pressure on boss Stuart Pearce, many will have this down as a confident home win.
Boro have a good home record, sit safely in mid-table and have lost just one of their last 15 games - and that an away loss to Chelsea.
However, they've drawn nine of those 15 games and City showed enough in defeat against Chelsea in midweek to suggest that they can nick a point.
This may also be a good time to be playing Gareth Southgate's side.
Middlesbrough are almost certain to have one eye on Monday night's FA Cup replay with Manchester United and any drop-off in effort could prove costly for the hosts.
City came away with a 0-0 draw from the Riverside last season and we'll take them to earn another stalemate this time.