McClaren is careful of what he wished for

Middlesbrough v Lazio: Middlesbrough were selling only single seats for their match with Lazio yesterday and were confident of a full house at the Riverside this evening when they take on the Rome club, one of the favourites for the UEFA Cup

Three points tonight would as good as secure Boro's passage to the last 32. They have already won at Egaleo and, with the top three from the five-team groups qualifying, optimism is high because Lazio are not the force they were as recently as 1999-2000, when Sven-Goran Eriksson steered them to the Italian double.

"This is the kind of game we've been looking forward to since winning the League Cup (and qualifying). The players can't wait for it," said Boro's manager Steve McClaren.

"We wanted to get into Europe, get into the group stage and pit our wits against the best, and they come no better, and with no bigger reputation, than Lazio."

This season Lazio, who have the summer free transfer Paolo di Canio in their squad, are mid-table with three wins, three draws and three defeats from nine matches. They have also failed to win any of their past six games against English clubs since beating Chelsea in 2000, and only drew last month's UEFA Cup group match 1-1 with Villarreal.

"We can't under-estimate them," McClaren said, "but we've a great chance. We've watched them play, and with the way we're playing, we are confident because of the run we've had.

"The biggest plus for me is the way we are defending. You can't win anything in Europe without defending well."

Boro have some key players injured, however, notably Gaizka Mendieta - who spent a year at Lazio after they bought him for £29.1 million in 2001 - Ugo Ehiogu, Szilard Nemeth, Michael Reiziger, Stuart Parnaby and Malcolm Christie.

"The players expect to win and I think that's a measure of how far we have progressed," McClaren added. "It's going to be tight so players and fans are going to have to be patient. Sometimes you have to play the first 75 minutes waiting for the last 15."

Lazio may have to field the third-choice goalkeeper Fabrizio Casazza because Angelo Peruzzi is recovering from knee surgery and Matteo Sereni injured a knee at Inter on Saturday.

MIDDLESBROUGH (from): Schwarzer; Queudrue, Southgate, Cooper, Boateng, Zenden, Parlour, Downing, Viduka, Hasselbaink, Job, Riggott, Graham, Morrison, Winter, Peacock, Nash.