Town boss Mick McCarthy has handed on-loan Barnsley defender Paul Digby his first league start for the Blues at Middlesbrough.
Digby, 21, looks set to come into the back four as the right-sided centre-half alongside Tommy Smith with Christophe Berra not in the 18 due to a knee injury.
The Sheffield-born loanee has previously made three sub appearances for the Blues in the league in addition to two FA Cup starts. For Barnsley he has made 11 senior starts and has made 14 appearances from the bench.
McCarthy has made four changes in total with Luke Hyam, David McGoldrick and Kevin Bru also starting, while Andre Dozzell, Brett Pitman and Jonathan Douglas drop to the bench, alongside Teddy Bishop.
Second-placed Middlesbrough start with Jordan Rhodes, while David Nugent is amongst their subs. The Teessiders make one change with Ritchie De Laet replacing George Friend, who has a hamstring injury, at left-back.
Middlesbrough: Konstantopoulos, Nsue, Ayala, Gibson, De Laet, Clayton, Leadbitter, Adomah, Ramirez, Downing, Rhodes. Subs: Agazzi, Nugent, Forshaw, Kalas, Stuani, Husband, De Sart.
Town: Bialkowski, Knudsen, Chambers (c), Smith, Digby, Skuse, Hyam, Bru, Feeney, Sears, McGoldrick. Subs: Gerken, Foley, Bishop, Dozzell, Douglas, Pringle, Pitman. Referee: Darren Bond (Lancashire).