Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka believes his side are in a stronger position to challenge for automatic promotion from the Sky Bet Championship than they were last season.Boro missed out on the chance to go top when they lost 2-1 at Blackburn on Tuesday night, while a run of just three wins in their last nine league games has seen them slip to third in the table, albeit one point behind leaders Burnley with a game in hand.The Teessiders play host to Wolves at the Riverside Stadium on Friday, live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 7pm. Tuesday was another game less, Karanka told the clubs official website. Were in a good position.Last season, we were worse off than we are now.We have a good game against Wolves on Friday so Im calm because I trust this squad and we have to keep going.Middlesbrough, who lost 2-0 to Norwich in last seasons play-off final, are also level on points with second-placed Hull with 13 games remaining. Aitor Karanka is in confident mood ahead of Fridays game Midfielder Grant Leadbitter is doubtful after being forced out of the midweek defeat with a hamstring injury, so either Adam Clayton or Gaston Ramirez could return to the starting line-up.Karanka will be without central defender Daniel Ayala, who has missed the last five matches due to an ankle injury.Wolves boss Kenny Jackett is hoping his side can build on last weeks home win against Derby, which halted a seven-game run without a win.The Midlanders are 13th in the table and Jackett has called for consistency between now and the end of the season. Highlights of Blackburns 2-1 win against Middlesbrough in the Championship I think theres a lot to build on there in terms of performances, both individually and as a team, he told the clubs official website.Were 12 off the play-offs and 14 off the relegation places, and thats where we are.Finishing this season very strongly is something Im determined to do.Weve had spells where weve been looking a good team, and with the addition of X, Y and Z we could go on to be one of the better sides.But weve also had spells where weve looked like were just going to fall away and be heading towards the bottom. Highlights of Wolves 2-1 win over Derby at Molineux in the Sky Bet Championship Midfielder James Henry could return to contention after missing the last three games due to a hamstring injury, while Jackett may recall winger Rajiv van La Parra.Van La Parra was left out of the squad last week after being booed off by Wolves supporters in the recent defeat at Brentford for inflammatory comments he recently made on social media about his wages.Mike Williamson (hamstring) and forward Michal Zyro (broken foot) are closing in on returns but are not likely to feature.Watch Middlesbrough v Wolves live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 7pm on Friday. Or watch for £6.99 without a contract, on NOW TV. Blake Jarwin Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Rico Gathers Jersey . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday to increase her lead to five strokes after the second round of the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament. http://www.cheapcowboysjerseyschina.com/taco-charlton-jersey/ . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge. Anthony Brown Jersey . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. Luke Gifford Jersey ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition.MILAN -- A mix between Diego Maradona and Gonzalo Higuain?Plaudits dont get much better for a Napoli player, but that is just some of the praise that is being heaped on Dries Mertens after another fantastic display on Sunday.After scoring a hat trick against Cagliari the previous week, Mertens went one better against Torino, putting four past England goalkeeper Joe Hart.Mertens completed his hat trick in nine first-half minutes and then saved the best until last -- a sublime chip into the far corner in the 80th minute.The Belgium winger is now drawing comparisons to Higuain for his number of goals and Maradona for his style of play.Indeed, Mertens fourth goal was Maradona-esque.Lets say Ive got a way to go, Mertens said when asked about the comparison.Maradona is still revered in Naples after leading the team to its only two league titles in 1987 and 1990.No one has scored successive hat tricks in Serie A since 1974, while it was the quickest treble since Andriy Shevchenko scored three in seven minutes for AC Milan in 2000.The last Napoli player to net four goals in a top-flight match was Giuseppe Savoldi on December 18, 1977 -- a gap of exactly 39 years.Mertens emergence has eased the pain caused by Higuains departure in the offseason. Higuain transferred to Juventus for an Italian-record 90 million euros ($100 million) after breaking a 66-year-old Serie A record with 36 goals for Napoli last season.Arkadiusz Milik was signed to replace him and scored seven goals in eight matches, but tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee while playing for Poland in October.As a result, Napoli coach Mauurizio Sarri has been relying on a three-man forward line with Mertens as a falso nueve -- false No.dddddddddddd 9 -- flanked by Jose Callejon and Lorenzo Insigne. And the trio is starting to gel.Mertens has netted eight goals in his past three matches in all competition, and a total of 10 in the league. Not bad for a player who is not even a forward.Hes scored 10 goals like Higuain or am I mistaken? Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis said after the 5-3 win over Torino.Both players are level in the scoring charts, with two goals less than Inter Milan forward Mauro Icardi, Roma striker Edin Dzeko and Torino youngster Andrea Belotti.I feel good playing in this team, Mertens said. We are doing a great job and the coach is instilling in us his way of playing, which I think is the best for this team.Unlike previous Napoli stars who have left the club at the height of their powers in recent years -- such as Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi, who went to Paris Saint-Germain, or Higuain -- Mertens seems to have a genuine love for the city.The 29-year-old Belgian, who joined from PSV Eindhoven in 2013, often posts pictures on social media of himself around Naples, along with captions calling the city home or saying no place Id rather be. Mertens and his wife also went to a Halloween party dressed as two of his teammates -- Insigne and Marek Hamsik.The latest photo Mertens posted, on Monday morning, was of a figurine of himself -- in his Napoli kit -- looking out over the city. [url=http://www.cheapjerseysauthenticmlb.com/]Wholesale Baseball Jerseys ' ' '