Hull City and Blackburn Rovers will both look to continue winning runs in the Championship on Saturday, when they do battle at the MKM Stadium.
The hosts have climbed to 16th spot in England's second tier with back-to-back three-point hauls, while three consecutive triumphs have seen their visitors move up to third place, only outside of the top two on goal difference.
Match preview
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Hull City have already experienced an eventful campaign in the Championship, having made a positive start under Shota Arveladze before the manager was sacked with four straight defeats leaving them on 11 points from 10 games.
Andy Dawson has taken charge of the Tigers since Arveladze's dismissal, and they have quickly improved their form, initially bouncing back from a 2-0 defeat to Luton Town in his first game in charge with a win over Wigan Athletic, only to lose their next two outings against Huddersfield Town and Birmingham City.
Appearing to be struggling under the caretaker, Hull would then return to winning ways away at Blackpool, as Ryan Longman, Greg Docherty and Regan Slater all got on the scoresheet at Bloomfield Road, before the Tigers prevailed again against Rotherham United last weekend.
Hoping to make it two victories on the bounce, Jacob Greaves put them ahead at the New York Stadium, and after Dan Barlaser equalised on the stroke of half time, Cyrus Christie would renew his side's lead and Longman and Ozan Tufan would also find the net to ensure Georgie Kelly's late goal for the hosts was inconsequential in an eventual 4-2 triumph.
With Dawson keen to strengthen his claim for the permanent post and the Tigers having quickly climbed to 16th spot with a three-point cushion over the bottom three, they will aim to keep building momentum with another victory at the weekend but face one of their toughest tests yet.
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Blackburn Rovers will travel to Yorkshire looking to break back into the top two after three wins on the bounce, having taken well to life under Jon Dahl Tomasson following his summer appointment.
A perfect start to the season was followed by a run of three consecutive defeats, and while the Lancashire outfit have lost seven Championship games and not yet drawn, they do now boast a league-high tally of 10 victories in 17 matches.
Following a setback away at Wigan Athletic, Rovers returned to winning ways against Middlesbrough, picking up a 2-1 victory at the Riverside Stadium thanks to a Sam Gallagher brace, before making it back-to-back three point hauls as Ben Brereton Diaz and Scott Wharton found the net in a 2-0 triumph over Sunderland at Ewood Park.
Looking to make it three wins on the bounce, Tomasson's side most recently hosted Birmingham City last weekend, and they went two goals ahead through Gallagher and Adam Wharton before holding out for all three points after Scott Hogan pulled one back for their visitors in the 80th minute.
Now only trailing league leaders Burnley by two points and second-placed Queens Park Rangers on goal difference, Blackburn will go in search of a fourth straight victory on Saturday to stand a chance of moving into the automatic promotion spots at this early stage of the season.
Team News
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Hull City could come into the game with an unchanged starting XI from their victory at Rotherham last weekend, although summer arrival Oscar Estupinan will be vying to come back in and lead the line from the outset, having netted eight league goals so far this season.
Ryan Longman is bound to keep his place in the attacking unit after his goal at the New York Stadium, though, while Dimitrios Pelkas has also established himself as an important man going forward for the Tigers with the likes of Benjamin Tetteh and Allahyar Sayyadmanesh confined to the treatment room.
Ozan Tufan will push to displace either Ryan Woods or Jean-Michael Seri at the base of midfield, while Cyrus Christie, Tobias Figueiredo, Alfie Jones and Jacob Greaves should again form the back four in the absence of Callum Elder, Brandon Fleming and Lewie Coyle.
Blackburn Rovers' line will be led by star man Ben Brereton Diaz, who has also notched up eight Championship goals so far this season after hitting the net 22 times in the second tier last term.
He will be joined by Sam Gallagher, who netted his third league goal of the campaign last time out, while Adam Wharton should keep his place behind the front two after also scoring in that game, although Tyrhys Dolan will also be fighting for a starting berth.
With experienced defender Daniel Ayala out of action through injury, Dominic Hyam should again be joined in a back three by Scott Wharton and Hayden Carter, with Tyler Morton continuing to partner Lewis Travis in midfield.
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Baxter; Christie, Jones, Figueiredo, Greaves; Woods, Seri; Pelkas, Slater, Longman; Estupinan
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Kaminski; Carter, Hyam, S Wharton; Hedges, Travis, Morton, Pickering; A Wharton; Gallagher, Brereton Diaz
We say: Hull City 1-3 Blackburn Rovers
While Hull have certainly improved recently, they are yet to establish any real consistency so far this season, and we see them falling short in their bid to make it three wins in a row when they welcome the league's third-placed side.
Blackburn have the ability to cause their hosts plenty of problems, and we back them to return to Lancashire with another victory to boost their chances of moving into the top two.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
