Boro travel to Watford on Saturday for the final fixture before the October international break.
Michael Carrick's side made it two wins from two with an impressive 1-0 victory at West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday, and now head to Vicarage Road.
Here is the lowdown on the Hornets...
The background
Watford are a place and a point behind Boro in the Sky Bet Championship standings, sitting eighth.
Their most recent outing saw them beaten 3-0 by Preston North End on Wednesday, which was their third league defeat on the road this season.
Last Saturday, Watford defeated Sunderland 2-1 at Vicarage Road, having earlier started the campaign with consecutive victories over Millwall, Stoke City and Derby County.
The Hornets finished 15th in last season's Championship and have been at this level since 2022, when they were relegated from the Premier League.
The boss
Watford are led by Tom Cleverley, who took the reins on a permanent basis in the summer after a spell in temporary charge.
The former midfielder called time on his playing days in the summer of 2023, when his coaching journey took a significant step as he took up a position coaching Watford's under-18s.
Cleverley spent eight seasons with the Hornets as a player across two stints and won 13 senior caps with England.
He also represented Leicester City, Wigan Athletic, Aston Villa and Everton after coming through the ranks at Manchester United, where he won the Premier League in 2013. Cleverley was a team-mate of Boro boss Michael Carrick at Old Trafford.
Key players
Moussa Sissoko has quickly re-established himself at Vicarage Road since his summer return from Nantes. The 71-times capped French international previously spent a year with the Hornets and has also represented Toulouse, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur.
Another vital player for Cleverley's men is Edo Kayembe, who has struck three goals so far this season. The DR Congo international midfielder has been with Watford since 2022.
Among the other important members of the squad are experienced Italian defender Angelo Ogbonna, Georgian midfielder Giorgi Chakvetadze and Ivorian forward Vakoun Bayo, who is on loan from Udinese.
Past meetings
We did the league double over Watford last season, winning 3-2 at Vicarage Road in September before a 3-1 home victory on the final day of the season.
Boro had failed to beat the Hornets in 10 consecutive games before the current run of three straight wins.