In his first game back in charge of Peterborough United, Grant McCann will lead the Posh into battle on Saturday against Hull City, who he left just a month ago.
He takes over with the side sat 23rd in the Championship table, eight points adrift of safety, while their visitors are 13 points clear of the bottom three in 20th spot.
Match preview
© Reuters
Despite seemingly enjoying a relatively bright start to the campaign, Peterborough United have found life back in the Championship tough, with the Posh now in a particularly unenviable position in the fight for survival.
They have won just one of their last 18 games in the second tier and head into Saturday in a run of 10 matches without a win, having earned just two points in that time.
One of those came in a recent six-pointer against fellow strugglers Reading, as the game finished as a goalless draw, but the Cambridgeshire outfit have since suffered another two defeats, firstly falling in another crucial game against Derby County, triggering the dismissal of Darren Ferguson.
Matthew Etherington then led them into a difficult trip to Fulham, and, despite Jack Marriott pulling a late goal back, they eventually left empty-handed, albeit with their heads held high after only a narrow 2-1 loss.
With McCann now back at the helm and keen to get one over on his former side, the Posh will go in search of what will be seen as a necessary three-point haul if they are to stay in the fight for survival.
© Reuters
The Tigers arrive looking to end a winless run of their own, having failed to secure a victory in their last six outings.
Despite Hull sitting in a comfortable position in their first season back in the second tier after consecutive wins over second-placed Bournemouth and third-placed Blackburn Rovers, the new hierarchy made the decision to part ways with McCann, who led them to promotion.
In came Shota Arveladze, and, while he started by stretched their winning run to three games with a defeat of Swansea City, the Yorkshire outfit have been unable to add another notch to their wins column in the six games since.
After three straight defeats, the Tigers did impress with consecutive draws against promotion-chasing duo Sheffield United and Queens Park Rangers, but they took another major backward step last time out, as a home meeting with basement side Barnsley resulted in a 2-0 defeat.
The poor run of form has seen Arveladze's men drop back down to 20th spot, and, while they have a 13-point cushion over the drop zone, the Yorkshire outfit will still look to correct their form to ensure they are not dragged into a scrap for the final few games of the campaign.
- L
- L
- L
- D
- L
- L
- W
- L
- L
- D
- L
- L
- L
- L
- L
- D
- D
- L
Team News
© Reuters
We are yet to see how McCann will line Peterborough up, although he will have the option of picking left-back Hayden Coulson, who served a suspension last time out after being sent off against Derby.
Defensive duo Mark Beevers and Dan Butler will remain out of action as they continue to battle through injuries.
Jack Marriott will hope for a fresh start under the new boss, with the forward having netted his third league goal of the season last time out despite the majority of his 14 appearances being cameos off the bench.
Hull have an unenviable list of injuries to deal with, as Lewie Coyle, Josh Emmanuel, Nathan Baxter, Mallik Wilks and goalkeeper Matt Ingram are all sidelined.
Marcus Forss should continue to lead the line following his loan move from Brentford in January.
He will be supported by young winger Keane Lewis-Potter, who has netted six goals and provided four assists in the Championship this season.
Peterborough United possible starting lineup:
Benda; Knight, Edwards, Kent, Burrows; Brown, Norburn; Ward, Grant, Szmodics; Marriott
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Cartwright; Bernard, McLoughlin, Greaves, Fleming; Slater, Smallwood; Longman, Honeyman, Lewis-Potter; Forss
We say: Peterborough United 2-1 Hull City
With Hull's poor form combined with the possible boost felt by Peterborough and McCann's first clash against Hull, we fancy the Posh to put an end to their winless run at the weekend.
The hosts have far more to play for currently and will know that Saturday must act as a platform to kick off an unlikely survival bid with three points.
Top tip
Sam Varley
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Hull City win with a probability of 36.03%. A win for Peterborough United had a probability of 35.21% and a draw had a probability of 28.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Hull City win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.96%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (7.55%) and 0-2 (6.77%). The likeliest Peterborough United win was 1-0 (11.78%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.34%). The actual scoreline of 0-3 was predicted with a 2.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Hull City would win this match.
