WHEN you're winless in four games and the Championship's top six is threatening to disappear into the distance, an away game against perhaps the best second tier team in recent history would not be at the top of the list of desired next fixtures.

Leicester City are Premier League-bound and Middlesbrough head coach Michael Carrick is approaching today's game against the runaway Championship leaders as he would a game against a top flight side, so good are Enzo Maresca's Foxes.

But that doesn't mean Boro head for the King Power Stadium with no hope.

Carrick's side are in desperate need of a result as they look to stop the rot and keep their fast-fading play-off hopes alive, and while Boro are undoubtedly the big underdogs this afternoon, they'll take heart from their record this season against the stronger sides.

Boro were victorious against both Leicester City and Southampton at home in the league, stunned Chelsea at the Riverside in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg and almost held high flying Aston Villa to a draw on Teesside in the FA Cup.

Of course, repeating that success away from home is a different challenge and Boro are in something of a rut right now compared to a Leicester side that are flying and have won their last five games in all competitions.

“I think we approach it as though they’re a Premier League team," said Carrick.

"I think you can see from their results they’ve got and the players they’ve got, they’re largely Premier League players. We know what we’re up against and the boys have to be ready for that."

READ MORE:

Boro will have complete respect for Leicester but won't fear the leaders, said Carrick, who believes his players can pull off a surprise, as they did when the sides met in November.

“It will be a big test for us and a whole new different challenge for us," said Boro's boss.

"The boys will be ready for it, we have to be. We've recovered right and prepared for a different game completely (to Preston on Wednesday) and we'll go there hoping, and expecting, to get a good result.

"We’ve done a lot of good things this season but it doesn’t show for where we are in the league and, in the end, that’s the story. But we have had some good results and performances against the better teams in the league. We need to keep doing that and this is the next one, so we’ll attack that as best as we can."

Boro need a spark. They've picked up just one point from the last 12 available and are now seven points shy of the play-off places. Leicester away is clearly the ultimate Championship challenge but if Boro can manage to take something off the leaders, Carrick believes it can act as a springboard for the games to come.

“The results tell the story and we can’t hide from that, but there are ways to have a bad run of results," he said.

"I don’t think we’re at that stage where we’re miles off or we’re desperate. I genuinely don’t, based on what we’re doing in the games. It feels like we just need something to turn that can kind of catapult you into a better run of form. But everyone is chasing that, and chasing results, so we can’t get complacent and expect it will turn, we’ve got to make that happen.

"Certainly, this is a great opportunity. If we can get a good result there, it would give us something to go on for the next few weeks.”