MIDDLESBROUGH will have key defensive duo Daniel Ayala and Ryan Fredericks available for tomorrow’s crucial promotion showdown with play-off hopefuls Wolves.

Boro are one point adrift of the automatic promotion places with four games remaining, with tomorrow night’s game kick-starting a critical four-day spell that will also see them travel to second-placed Norwich City on Friday evening.

Ayala was withdrawn after 69 minutes of Saturday’s 2-0 win over Rotherham United, but his departure was a precautionary measure and he is expected to start alongside Ben Gibson tomorrow.

Fredericks was not in the squad at the weekend, and has been sidelined since the 2-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest at the start of last month, but the Tottenham loanee has been passed fit to return and Karanka must decide whether to thrust him back into the right-back slot or stick with Tomas Kalas, who performed reliably against Rotherham.

Karanka said: “Dani is okay, and I think all of them are well. I need to check today because there have only been two days and it is important to put on the pitch the players who are 100 per cent because now we can't make mistakes. So I have to speak to them and hope they are ready.”

 “Ryan is ready so I will have to think about the make up of my team. I have a lot of players to choose from, and I will have to choose the right ones. It is difficult because all of them deserve to play.

“All of them have been working very well on the training ground. We are in April, and players like Dean Whitehead, Emmanuel Ledesma and Yanic Wildschut – people who have not been playing – are still trying to do everything for the team.

“After the game on Saturday, the following session here was amazing. All the players worked very well, and it is difficult for me to sit down at my desk and have to choose the first 11 players, and then the squad of 18.”

With all four of the automatic promotion rivals in action this week, the race for the Premier League could look significantly clearer come Wednesday night.

While Boro are entertaining Wolves tomorrow, leaders Bournemouth will be playing at Reading, who have an FA Cup semi-final looming this weekend, and Norwich will be in action at Leeds.

Wednesday night sees Watford travelling to the City Ground to face Nottingham Forest, and Karanka accepts there is very little room for error with the top four clubs separated by just two points.

He said: “I said it would be a race to the last second and, with four games to go, the first teams are within two points.

“Tomorrow is a massive fixture, we are playing at home and it's important to keep going and to keep fighting. To get that position (in the top two), it is important to win at home.”

Boro produced one of their worst displays of the season as they lost 2-0 at Molineux in October, and Karanka has accused his players on that day of underestimating a Wolves side who came out of League One last season.

Kenny Jackett’s side have enjoyed a successful season back in the Championship, and are only out of the play-off positions on goal difference despite last weekend’s 2-1 defeat at Birmingham.

Karanka said: “They are a team I like a lot. The manager is doing a very good job, they are a well-organised team, and they have very dangerous players up front.

“It is going to be a difficult game because they are with the same points as Ipswich and Brentford and they have to win to keep going and get the play-off position.”