Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka believes bad luck has been responsible for his side's sluggish start on their return to the Premier League.
Despite a recent improvement in performances, Boro go into the Monday Night Football clash with Hull City sitting just one point above Mike Phelan's Tigers, whose own poor form has seen them branded relegation favourites.
Hard-earned points at Arsenal and Manchester City and a narrow home defeat to Chelsea last month have raised hopes of survival on Teesside but Karanka knows his side's previous failures against so-called lesser teams have cost them dear.
Karanka said: "I think for example against Stoke we could have won and against Watford and Crystal Palace we didn't deserve to lose. But the truth is we have 12 points and one day we will not deserve to win and we will win.
"When you have been working in the Championship for two and a half years and know how tough every single game is, having the opportunity to work against the best teams in the world is amazing, but we know we have to improve every single day."
Despite their problems in the top-flight this season, Karanka believes Hull will be buoyed by their midweek EFL Cup win over Newcastle which sent them through to the semi-finals.
"They have had injuries but they are in a good moment having reached the semi-final and they are only one point below us," added Karanka.
"We know them from last season but it is going to be a completely different game. We have to avoid complacency thinking we are playing really well or we are playing at home against Hull who have a lot of injuries.
"We have to forget everything and only think that we have a tough game and an important game, and just focus on us."
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