But he thinks former Palace teammate Dowie will guide them out of the bottom three.
Southgate, set to face fit-again Johnson tomorrow, said: "I keep tabs on their fortunes. Palace's result is probably the first one I look for after our own.
"I think the team work very hard collectively and that is their strength. There are a lot of unsung heroes.
"Johnson scores the goals but everybody pulls their weight. The way Palace play, with the energy and enthusiasm they have, reflects well on Iain. He has done a terrific job there; you can see the spirit he has created.
"I played with him in my last year at Palace and he was always an intelligent guy, but also a great character.
"He is very organised and has always been very determined in everything so it is no surprise that he has done well in management.
"Even when we were playing he would take shooting practice at the end of training and keep a few of us out there. I was playing in midfield at the time and he would berate us if we did not stay on the training pitch at the end."
While Southgate's confidence in Palace's prospects is not shared by everyone, he is aware there is a general feeling it is a good time to be playing Middlesbrough.
Steve McClaren's side have won only one of their last 10 Premiership games and have struggled because of injuries to key players and fatigue from their UEFA Cup campaign.
Southampton certainly found them in charitable mood two weeks ago when they won 3-1 at the Riverside, pushing Palace into the bottom three.
But Southgate says his team have benefited from the rest they have had in the international break and could be boosted tomorrow by the returns of Mark Viduka (thigh), George Boateng (toe) and Ray Parlour (back).
Joseph-Desire Job (knee) and Michael Reiziger (ankle) are set to be missing but Palace's injury list is far more daunting.
Dowie may be without half of his usual defence. Gonzalo Sorondo (knee) is a doubt, Emmerson Boyce (foot) has been ruled out and potential stand-ins Darren Powell (thigh) and Danny Butterfield (hernia) are unlikely to be ready.
The manager said: "We will welcome Southgate back here. He was a great player for Palace.
"But this is a big game for us. Middlesbrough will have something to prove after the Southampton result and we have to make sure they don't do that against us.
"I think there are many twists and turns to come in this relegation battle. Our home games will shape what happens to us and we are decent at Selhurst Park."
