Chief football writer Paul Fraser has penned this column for today's Middlesbrough match-day programme

THE prospect of Middlesbrough’s top two tussle with Derby County today has got everyone excited, with the majority believing these two teams could be playing in the Premier League next season.

At the half-way stage of this Championship campaign both teams are looking the part and more than capable of achieving their goals under the two former Real Madrid assistant managers, Aitor Karanka and Paul Clement.

The sight of Middlesbrough climbing back to the top of the Championship in midweek courtesy of the hard-earned 1-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday – before Derby played Leeds the following day – was an encouraging one from a North-East perspective.

But on the same day Newcastle United, under the management of Steve McClaren, slipped to another defeat at West Brom which leaves them deep in relegation trouble along with Sunderland and both will start 2016 in the bottom three.

With all of the teams above the Tyne-Wear pair showing they are capable of collecting points, the situation looks grim and it is not inconceivable that both will fall into the Championship; they certainly have work to do.

From a regional perspective that would be a real blow to the country’s so-called ‘hot-bed of football’ patch - even if Middlesbrough replace them; take a look south of Teesside where there are no top-flight clubs until you drive through Yorkshire and arrive in Manchester.

But picture a scenario where Karanka’s men replace the Magpies and Black Cats. It will be 25 years since Boro have spent a year in the Premier League without either of them.

Promotion along with Ipswich in 1992 earned Lennie Lawrence’s Middlesbrough a place in the inaugural Premier League season, leaving behind Newcastle and Sunderland who had to fight it out below them in the top tier of the Football League.

That has never been repeated and Middlesbrough actually went down along with Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace that season, while Newcastle won promotion under Kevin Keegan and spent two years as the region’s top dogs until Bryan Robson led Middlesbrough up.

Since then there have been plenty seasons when all three – or at least two - have been among the elite together but staying there has been a bit of a challenge.

Newcastle had a year on their own in the Premier League in 1997-98 because the Tees-Wear rivals went down the previous year when Keegan had his nearly moment in the title race when they finished second to Manchester United.

And then, of course, Middlesbrough and Newcastle suffered the frustration of relegation in 2009, leaving Sunderland as the only top-flight club until Chris Hughton led the men from St James’ Park back up at the first time of asking.

Middlesbrough had struggled to make inroads towards a Premier League since, but at the seventh time of asking Karanka’s Class of 2016 could well finish off the job.