Swansea City head to the Riverside and know that victory over their mid table opponents will strengthen their hold on a play off position in the Championship.
Although they cannot gain any ground position wise with a win, they can move clear of their rivals for those positions so Monk recognises the significance of the game not least because it will put a further gap between them and their hosts who have struggled – maybe surprisingly – this season.
“We have to make sure they don’t gain any ground on us,” Monk told BBC Sport Wales.
“We are in a great position right now but they are another team that will be looking to put a run together to try to get in those play-offs.
“With the quality within them they will be expecting to do a lot better than where they are right now.
“They will be looking to go on a run. We have to stop that and we keep our run going.
“If we are anywhere near our best we will give anyone in this league a good game.
“We rarely lose both times in the league to the same team and the last time it happened was Crystal Palace last year and we want to make sure it doesn’t happen this year,” he said.
“It’s going to be a tough one for us. The squad that they’ve got and the players they’ve got, they are still Premier League players with Premier League experience.
“They have lost a couple of players but they are the type of team who have shown in this January window that they can go out and buy three or four players with ease so that shows what you are up against budget-wise.”
