Hull City will be looking to put an end to a disastrous six-match losing run when they travel to Birmingham City in Saturday's Championship clash.
The Tigers have failed to win any of their last 12 league matches and are now in the relegation zone, while Birmingham are seven points better off in 16th after struggling for wins themselves.
Match preview
© Reuters
Not since New Year's Day, when overcoming Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 at Hillsborough to make it back-to-back victories, have Hull collected all three points from a game.
That most recent win almost half a year ago lifted Hull into eighth place, one point off the playoffs.
Incredibly, they have taken only two points from a possible 36 since then - and none from the last 15 on offer - to fall down the division.
Last weekend's clash with Charlton Athletic was rightly billed as a six-pointer, with the Addicks also out of form and in desperate need of a victory from somewhere.
It was Charlton who came out on top at the KCOM Stadium thanks to Jason Pearce's first-half goal, meaning that Hull slipped into the dropzone for the first time this season.
Grant McCann now has eight games to save his side, and the good news for the Tigers is that the bottom half of the division remains incredibly tight.
Victory against Birmingham this weekend and Hull could potentially climb up to 17th. Another defeat, though, and the gap on safety may well widen.
© Reuters
The Blues may not be at immediate threat of relegation, largely thanks to a three-match winning run in February, but they still have work to do to make certain of safety.
Pep Clotet's men are 16th and seven points above the dotted line after losing just one of their last 12 matches, a run that included a goalless draw with West Bromwich Albion in their first game back.
There have been a further six draws during that run, though, which has ultimately cost the Blues any chance of making a late charge for the playoff spots.
With City announcing during lockdown that boss Clotet will move on in the summer, the club are already in a position to think about next season.
Ending 2019-20 on a high will be the aim for Birmingham, of course, and they have a good chance to put three more points on the board this weekend.
Only once in their last 14 home meetings with Hull have the Blues tasted defeat - 3-2 in November 2012 - and the home side has won seven of the last eight league encounters.
Birmingham's Championship form: DDDDLD
Hull's Championship form: DLLLLL
Team News
© Reuters
Hull are without Eric Lichaj, Jackson Irvine and Stephen Kingsley for the rest of the season as their contracts have not been renewed, while loanee Marcus Maddison has returned to Peterborough United.
Josh Magennis is pushing for a recall after making an impression from the bench against Charlton, which could mean Tom Eaves - one goal in nine games for him - making way.
McCann does otherwise have a clean bill of health, however, with Mallik Wilks also available for selection again after extending his loan stay from Barnsley.
The hosts are without centre-back Marc Roberts and defensive midfielder Ivan Sunjic for this game, while left-back Kristian Pedersen is also nursing an injury.
Jude Bellingham has attracted plenty of interest from European clubs in recent weeks and looks set to start in midfield.
Jeremie Bela came on for Bellingham in the goalless draw with leaders West Brom last weekend and may have done enough to earn a place in Clotet's starting lineup here.
Birmingham possible starting lineup:
Camp; Colin, Dean, Clarke-Salter, Harding; Crowley, Kieftenbeld, Bellingham, Bela; Hogan, Jutkiewicz
Hull possible starting lineup:
Long; Pennington, Wijs, MacDonald, Elder; Bowler, Stewart, Kane, Wilks; Toral; Magennis
We say: Birmingham 2-0 Hull
The last nine meetings between Birmingham and Hull have produced 36 goals at an average of four a game. The Tigers were 3-0 winners in December's reverse fixture but have struggled badly pretty much ever since, and we cannot see past a home win this weekend.
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 Birmingham City win with a probability of 43.54%. A win for Hull City had a probability of 30.72% and a draw had a probability of 25.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Birmingham City win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.26%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.99%) and 2-0 (7.54%). The likeliest Hull City win was 0-1 (8.33%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.23%). The actual scoreline of 3-3 was predicted with a 1% likelihood.
