A fixture which has proven to be a fruitful one for Wanderers in recent years, matches with Middlesbrough have never been dull affairs.

With the Whites having emerged victorious in four of the last seven meetings between the two sides – the last of which came back in April of this year in a 2-1 win at the Reebok – Wednesday’s clash looks set to be a cracker.

A fixture which was on hiatus for three years following Boro’s relegation from the top flight back in 2009, last season’s games yielded a win apiece for both sides.

A team which have picked up a reputation for their unpredictability – after narrowly missing out on the play-offs in 2012, they proceeded to slump to a 16th place finish last term – Boro started out the current campaign in similar form, producing just three wins in the first four months.

Languishing in the lower reaches of the league table, their poor form ultimately cost manager Tony Mowbray his job in the Boro hotseat, with former Real Madrid assistant manager Aitor Karanka being installed in his place in time for Wanderers’ visit to the Riverside last month.

Grant Leadbitter’s late penalty kick ensured that the new boss would begin life on home soil with a 1-0 victory – a win which has arguably kick started Middlesbrough’s campaign with ten points collected since.

Heading to the Reebok on the back of three consecutive victories, Karanka’s side will be hoping to improve upon an away record which currently boasts just two wins on their travels against Millwall and Charlton.

The form of winger Albert Adomah has undoubtedly been crucial to Boro’s season so far, with the former Bristol City man having notched nine goals in 22 appearances following his summer move from the relegated Robins.

After notching in Middlesbrough’s 3-0 win over Reading on Sunday afternoon – his second in three games - the 26-year-old will hoping that his rich vein of form in front of goal continues on Wednesday.

With Wanderers keen to bounce back from the weekend’s 5-3 defeat to Leicester, the Whites will be aiming to halt Boro’s thee game unbeaten run and start the New Year with a bang.

Christopher Sarginson will take charge of Wanderers’ clash with Middlesbrough on New Year’s Day.

Based in Staffordshire, Sarginson last officiated a Bolton Wanderers game back in September 2012 when the Whites were defeated 3-1 by Hull City at the KC Stadium.

An experienced official with over eight years spent in the professional game, Sarginson has so far featured in 16 games this season across the Championship, League One and League Two, handing out 51 yellow and four red cards in the process.

Paul Kettlewell and Mark Jones will run the line, while Mark Heywood is the fourth official.

Marvin Emnes believes Middlesbrough head to Wanderers for their New Year’s Day clash with a fresh frame of mind.

Boro have won their last three games under new boss Aitor Karanka.

The omens, however, are not in their favour as they were soundly beaten on the first day of this year and last.

New Year’s Day 2013 saw them go down to Blackpool, with Derby County beating them on the first day of 2012.

Boro striker Emnes says his side are looking to rid themselves of that jinx and continue the progress made over the Christmas period.

“We haven’t done so well on New Year’s Day lately and it has been the start of a really bad time for us in the last two seasons,” said the forward, who is expected to shrug off an ankle injury to face Wanderers.

“But we are playing well now and everyone looks sharp and solid so it is time to go there and change that form.

“We have a bit of a bounce after three good games and so we all think we can go there and take the three points.

“The manager has asked a lot of us since he arrived and it has taken some time but it is coming now.

“We are all smiling. Everything looks a lot brighter after a few wins.”

Financial reality continues to bite at Wanderers after the club revealed they were a record £163.8 million in the red this morning.

Parent company Burnden Leisure Plc reported losses of £50.7m, which see debts rise massively from last year’s £136.5m.

Turnover was down by £30m from £58.5m to £28.5m, while total staff costs for the year were £37.4m, down from £55.3m. The wage bill, currently standing at £32.7m is at its lowest level since 2007.

Chairman Phil Gartside said: "This year's results show the difficulties faced in the football business when a club has enjoyed a sustained and successful period in the Premier League, in our case 11 years, then suffers relegation back to the Football League Championship."

The chart below shows how Wanderers' debt has risen since 2005.

This chart shows how Wanderers' wage bill has been curbed in the last 12 months.

Wanderers reported that attendances at the Reebok Stadium are down by 28 per cent, while gate receipts were £3.8million, as compared to £5.7million last year.

That has contributed to the biggest single loss in the club's history - £50.7m - although that figure was lowered by the club according to "a number of one-off exceptional items relating to balance sheet impairments and other accounting adjustments."

Wanderers have not reported a profit in the last seven sets of financial figures.

A total of £2.3m was spent on "restructuring costs of previous management team" - which applies to the payment made to Owen Coyle and his staff when they were sacked back in October 2012 and that to bring in Dougie Freedman from Crystal Palace.

Sponsorship and advertising revenue dropped alarmingly from £4.3m to £1.4m, while revenues from corporate activity dropped from £1.7m to £1.1m.

Wanderers have acknowledged the massive financial debt now owed to owner Eddie Davies' Moonshift Investment Ltd, which stands at £151m, but have pointed out that the interest on money owed - for so long a bone of contention among Whites fans - has been reduced to nothing.

Wanderers report that their education business and Bolton Whites Hotel, recently accquired completely from De Vere, are making "positive strides" and also claim planning approval for the "Middlebrook Masterplan" development is expected to be passed "early next year" despite having met some initial hurdles at planning. In total £1.4m has been spent on fixed assets.

Gartside notes in the report that newly-installed Financial Fair Play rules mean the club must start to investigate alternative revenue streams away from football.

But the chairman does beleive investment is possible in Dougie Freedman's playing staff - with £4m invested in the last financial year.

"It should go without saying that Eddie Davies continues to provide a humbling level of support to the club. However, the financial support given by owners is no longer possible in this league without severe penalty," he said.

"We are responding to a changing environment by improvement and development of the wider Burnden Leisure business interests.

"This year we secured sole ownership of the hotel, expanded our education business and applied for planning permission to increase our non-football operations to improve revenues over the medium to long term.

 "We will continue to invest, both in the long and short term, where the returns can be justified.

"However, Financial Fair Play rules require an alternative funding structure and Bolton Wanderers is very much moving towards a self-sustainable future.

"Looking forward we have to recognise we are no longer a Premier League club in the Championship, but a Championship club with ambitions to play in the Premier League; a stark reality of the financial rules now imposed."  

Nigel Pearson expects to talk with Neil Danns about his Leicester City future soon – but has not ruled out sending him out on loan again to Wanderers in January.

The midfielder proved a hit at the Reebok with four goals in 12 starts but has been well out of the first-team frame for the table-topping Foxes.

He returned to train with his parent club after scoring the winner for Wanderers against Barnsley on Boxing Day but seems unlikely to usurp the likes of Matty James, Danny Drinkwater or Dean Hammond in Pearson’s plans.

Danns spent most of last season out on loan at Bristol City and Huddersfield Town and joined Wanderers back in October – featuring in just two Capital One Cup games for Leicester since August 2012.

Dougie Freedman has left the deal on the backburner for now as he looks to bolster his defensive ranks but speaking after Sunday’s game, Pearson said he has made plans to discuss the next step with the 31-year-old midfielder.

“It’s something I will discuss first with him before we talk in any kind of public sense,” he said. “I know Bolton have probably expressed a wish to either extend his loan or do something more permanent.

“The appropriate action is to speak to him first. He is a likeable guy but I don’t think it is right to be talking too publicly about the next step.

“Clearly his loan period was successful for him and for Bolton. And I will have a chat with him at some point to see where we go.”

Another loanee who would appear to be up for grabs is Kevin McNaughton, who also returned to Cardiff after Boxing Day.

With the managerial situation still up in the air in South Wales following the sacking of Malky Mackay, any deal to bring the Scot back to the Reebok is likely to take time.

But McNaughton’s absence was felt acutely in the 5-3 defeat at Leicester and with Tyrone Mears and David Wheater seemingly still well adrift of the first team picture, Freedman has made defensive cover his primary aim in the coming weeks.

“Losing Kevin (McNaughton) was a big blow and it has left us very, very short,” he said. “We only have four defenders in the building so we are very short in that area.

“Maybe that is a little clue as to what we will be doing in January.

“We have got to try and bring in a couple of defenders to make sure we are more resilient at the back. If we can get some resilience, home and away, we can score goals."