Boro are short of options in attack, as Leroy Lita has been sidelined by a hamstring problem, while Kris Boyd and Lee Miller are both out on loan.Scott McDonald will be up front for the Teessiders, who have Jonathan Grounds and Maxi Haas available but are easing back Stephen McManus and Andrew Davies.
Watford are assessing full-backs Lloyd Doyley and Lee Hodson.
Doyley is nursing a knee problem, while youngster Dodson has been recovering from a badly bruised ankle.
MATCH PREVIEW
Watford have clawed their way back into the promotion race and are the top away scorers in the Championship this season - largely thanks to a striker who was allowed to leave Middlesbrough.
Danny Graham, who departed Boro in 2007, has scored in five consecutive matches and has netted 24 times this season for the Hornets, who have won their last two games and are unbeaten in five.
It is a run that has taken them up to eighth in the table, only four points behind the play-off spots.
His former club are struggling at the other end of the division. The Teessiders are just two places above the relegation zone, and have won only two of their last eight matches.
Watford, who won at Boro last season for the first time in 17 years, have registered seven wins, five draws and six defeats on the road this term, which is exactly the same as Middlesbrough's home record.
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
• Middlesbrough and Watford have each won 11 of the 27 previous matches between these clubs.
• A win for Watford would complete the club's first league 'double' over Boro since the 1989/90 season.
Middlesbrough
• A draw would be Middlesbrough's 400th in the second tier.
• No Championship side has played fewer games this season than Boro, who have played 39 times in all competitions.
Watford
• Watford have scored in each of their last nine Championship games - a feat matched only by second-placed Norwich.
• They have conceded 52 league goals this season - only one fewer than Middlesbrough.
• The Hornets and Boro have committed fewer fouls this term than any other teams in the division.
Source: BBC Sport
Source: BBC Sport