Hull City and Rotherham United will both aim to return to winning ways in the Championship on Saturday, when they square off at the MKM Stadium.
While the hosts sit comfortably in 15th spot in the table, their visitors are seven points worse off in 20th place with just a four-point lead over the bottom three.
Match preview
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Hull City went into the recent international break in a disappointing run of form, after previously making a strong start to life under the new management of Liam Rosenior, as the Tigers won five of his first 12 games at the helm while only suffering two defeats.
That saw the Humber outfit quickly move away from the bottom three and into mid-table, but their form would dip beginning in mid-February, with just one more victory coming from their last eight matches in England's second tier - that being a 2-0 triumph at home to West Bromwich Albion after two draws and two defeats in the previous four outings.
Benjamin Tetteh opened the scoring in that game before Dara O'Shea turned the ball into his own net, but the Tigers were unable to build another positive run on the back of that, firstly being pegged back and held to a 1-1 draw away at Coventry City, after Oscar Estupinan had them ahead, before suffering a 3-1 beating at home to league leaders Burnley with Ozan Tufan's injury-time goal nothing more than a consolation.
Prior to the break, the Tigers then travelled to take on a Reading side in the midst of a rut of their own, and while they went ahead through Regan Slater, Andy Carroll drew the hosts level before half time, forcing a share of the spoils at the Madejski Stadium as a result.
Although they remain well clear of danger in England's second tier, Hull's dip in form has seen them drop down to 15th spot, and Rosenior's men will be keen to begin climbing back towards the top half in the final months of the season starting with a home victory this weekend.
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They meet a Rotherham United side who will be desperate for a victory of their own to help their survival hopes, having experienced their own dip prior to the break in league action.
Heavily embroiled in the fight to avoid relegation to League One, the Millers sat on just 33 points from 32 outings, before putting a crucial run of results together between late February and early March to gain some breathing space, beating Sunderland and Queens Park Rangers 2-1 and 3-1 respectively on home turf either side of a commendable 1-1 draw away at Swansea City.
Hoping to build on that run and move further clear of the bottom three, Matt Taylor's side then met Birmingham City away from home, but they left empty-handed following a 2-0 defeat, before suffering a second straight loss at home to Preston North End, with Thomas Cannon and Ched Evans finding the net for the visitors either side of Hakeem Odoffin's leveller.
On the back of those losses, the South Yorkshire outfit most recently hosted Cardiff City in a relegation six-pointer before the international break, with just one point separating the two sides above the drop zone, and after the visitors went ahead early on through Jaden Philogene-Bidace, a downpour of rain rendered the pitch unplayable soon after half time, forcing a postponement.
Now with their lead over Huddersfield Town in 22nd place cut to just four points, the Millers will know that they must turn their form around to avoid being dragged into the relegation zone in the run-in, starting with what would be a vital triumph in Saturday's relatively short trip.
Team News
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Liam Rosenior has a list of injury issues to deal with in his Hull City squad, as Cyrus Christie, Xavier Simons, Ryan Woods, Benjamin Tetteh and Aaron Connolly are all expected to miss out, with Connolly and Tetteh having previously played important roles in the front line.
Goalkeepers Nathan Baxter and Matt Ingram are also sidelined, although Karl Darlow has become the first-choice goalkeeper since his loan arrival from Newcastle United in January, with the stopper likely to be shielded by a back four of Lewie Coyle, Alfie Jones, Sean McLoughlin and Callum Elder.
Regan Slater and Jean-Michael Seri could again partner up in the engine room, although Ozan Tufan is also fighting to come back in from the outset, while Oscar Estupinan should lead the line for the Tigers, having netted 13 Championship goals in his first season in England.
Rotherham United have several injuries of their own to some of Taylor's most important players, with experienced defenders Sean Morrison and Grant Hall sidelined alongside midfielders Ben Wiles, Oliver Rathbone and Domingos Quina.
Without Rathbone and Wiles, Hakeem Odoffin and Conor Coventry will be heavily relied upon in the engine room, with Tariqe Fosu likely completing the midfield unit, while Jordan Hugill has been a mainstay since his arrival from Norwich City in January and will again spearhead the attack alongside Chiedozie Ogbene, who has netted seven league goals so far this term.
At the other end of the pitch, Bailey Wright will continue to join Cameron Humphreys in the middle of a back four, while new arrival and former Manchester United man Tyler Blackett could again be preferred over Leeds United loanee Leo Hjelde at left-back.
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Darlow; Coyle, Jones, McLoughlin, Elder; Slater, Seri; Ebiowei, Pelkas, Sayyadmanesh; Estupinan
Rotherham United possible starting lineup:
Johansson; Peltier, Wright, Humphreys, Blackett; Coventry, Odoffin, Fosu; Ogbene, Hugill, Ferguson
We say: Hull City 2-1 Rotherham United
Although the visitors need three points more than their hosts in the fight for survival, Rotherham are lacking several crucial players and find themselves in a tough run of form, and while Hull are in somewhat of a slump of their own, they should have the quality to see off the Millers on home turf.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
