The boys are back in town!
Former Middlesbrough pair Jacob Butterfield and Jonathan Hogg will be in the Town party which travels to Teesside for tomorrow’s showdown.
Hogg, 26, who was born in Middlesbrough and came through the club’s academy before moving to Aston Villa, will hope to reclaim his midfield berth from Oscar Gobern after being suspended for the 3-1 home win over Watford, another of his former clubs.
Butterfield, 24, had 12 months at Boro, scoring three goals in 32 appearances, before heading to the John Smith’s Stadium in August, when Adam Clayton made the opposite move in a deal reported as £1.5m, possibly rising to £2m.
Valued at £750,000 in the exchange, Butterfield has so far made 24 Town appearances, notching four goals and forming an effective trio along with Hogg and Conor Coady.
Clayton, who turned 26 on Wednesday, scored 12 goals in 94 Town games and will hope to add to his 24 Boro outings after being banned for the goalless draw at Reading.
With Aitor Karanka opting not to extend the loan of Serbian teenager Milos Veljkovic from Tottenham Hotspur, Clayton, skipper Grant Leadbitter and Dean Whitehead are the three central midfield options for the Riverside Stadium boss.
It was Leadbitter who fired in a spectacular free-kick and then put away a last-gasp penalty as Boro won 2-1 at the John Smith’s in Chris Powell’s first match in charge in September.
Ex-Sunderland and Ipswich Town player Leadbitter, 29, is a pivotal figure for Boro and leads the club scoring chart with 11.
Clayton said: “Grant’s a top player.
“He played in the Premier League back in the day, and he has been around the Championship for many years.
“He’s very good to play with, we’ve got a nice little balance in there, we know each other’s games and what each other is doing most of the time.
“Grant has been very good in many aspects this season both on and off the pitch as a captain.”
