Isaiah Jones scored twice as Middlesbrough enjoyed a resounding victory over Preston.
Summer signings Rav van den Berg and Alex Bangura also netted their first goals for the club in a one-sided game at the Riverside Stadium, where the hosts were three up by half-time.
Stuttering Preston's defeat was their sixth in 10 matches and another blow for the Lancashire side after Cardiff scored twice in stoppage time to beat them on Saturday.
They dropped out of the play-off places and are now just one point better off than Boro, whose win moved them up to ninth in the Championship table, three points off the play-off spots.