Nemeth fighting fitness battle.

The in-form striker felt a twinge in his hamstring against Birmingham on Saturday and was withdrawn. It will be a big blow for Boro as Nemeth has began to produce the form which persuaded Bryan Robson to bring the Slovakian to the Riverside.

McClaren though, remains hopeful that he will be able to select Szilard for the clash. "Szilard strained his hamstring on Saturday and we'll be monitoring him over the next few days. It's too early to say if he'll be out at the weekend."

George Boateng is also expected to be back after overcoming a bout of flu that forced him to miss the Brummie game.