Hull City will welcome Blackburn Rovers to the MKM Stadium on Saturday for an important game at both ends of the Championship table.
Fresh off the departure of Tim Walter and a fifth straight defeat at the weekend, the hosts sit in the relegation zone, while their visitors only trail the playoff spots by two points after three consecutive wins.
Match preview
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Hull City return to action on Saturday aiming to make a return to winning ways and escape the Championship's relegation zone, having endured a dismal run in recent months.
After a seventh-placed finish last time around, the Tigers currently sit 22nd in England's second tier with just 15 points on the board from 18 outings, having picked up all three of their league wins consecutively between late September and early October.
Since those triumphs, the Humber outfit have added just three more points to their tally in 10 further attempts, most recently suffering five straight defeats heading into the weekend with the fourth of those, a 2-0 loss at home to Sheffield Wednesday, spelling the end of Tim Walter's tenure after he arrived in the summer.
Andy Dawson then took interim charge for the second time, but he was unable to arrest their slump at the weekend, as the Tigers faced a tough trip to promotion-chasing Middlesbrough and succumbed to a 3-1 defeat, with Mason Burstow reducing the deficit to 2-1 20 minutes from time only for Tommy Conway to then put the game out of sight with his second of the game.
Now without a league win in over two months and remaining in the Championship's bottom three, two points adrift of safety, Hull City will be desperate to stop the rot at the MKM Stadium on Saturday and begin a climb up the division with a crucial three-point haul.
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They face another tough test, though, as the visitors make the trip aiming to crash the playoff spots with a fourth consecutive Championship triumph at the weekend.
Following a 19th-placed finish last time around, Blackburn Rovers have enjoyed a pleasing start to their first full season under the management of John Eustace, currently sitting eighth having amassed 28 points from their first 17 outings.
The Lancashire outfit dropped away from the top six with three straight defeats between late October and early November, but they have since bounced back in style, heading into the international break on the back of a 3-1 triumph away at Cardiff City before Dominic Hyam fired them to a 1-0 victory at in-form Middlesbrough on their return to action.
Another tough test followed at the weekend, as title-chasing Leeds United visited Ewood Park, but Eustace's men again showed their resilience to take all three points, having led through a first-half Todd Cantwell penalty and standing strong to see out a 1-0 triumph.
With confidence growing in the camp, having moved within touching distance of the top six with three straight wins and back-to-back clean sheets against top-six opposition, Blackburn Rovers will aim to keep building momentum and move into the playoff spots with another victory on Saturday.
Team News
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Defender Cody Drameh is a fresh injury concern for Hull City, while Oscar Zambrano remains suspended and Mohamed Belloumi, Liam Millar, Steven Alzate and Dogukan Sinik are still confined to the treatment room.
If Drameh is ruled out, Ryan Giles will come in on the left-hand side of a back four, while Sean McLoughlin and Alfie Jones should continue in the centre if Charlie Hughes is not deemed fit to feature.
Chris Bedia will hope to displace Joao Pedro and lead the line with support from Kasey Palmer and wingers Abu Kamara and either Abdulkadir Omur or Mason Burstow, who netted his first Tigers goal off the bench last time out.
Blackburn Rovers will be without midfielder Lewis Travis on Saturday, as he is suspended after reaching five league yellow cards, while Todd Cantwell picked up a knock in their win over Leeds United.
He could join Scott Wharton, Hayden Carter, Arnor Sigurdsson and Andreas Weimann in the treatment room, and if Cantwell is not deemed fit to feature, Makhtar Gueye and Ryan Hedges will compete to come into the attacking unit.
Lewis Baker will join Sondre Tronstad in the engine room in Travis's absence, while Yuki Ohashi will continue to lead the line having netted five goals so far this season.
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Pandur; Coyle, Jones, McLoughlin, Giles; Slater, Simons; Burstow, Palmer, Kamara; Pedro
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Pears; Brittain, Hyam, Batth, Pickering; Tronstad, Travis; Dolan, Gueye, Beck; Ohashi
We say: Hull City 0-1 Blackburn Rovers
Hull City failed to end their dismal run last weekend and face another tough test on Saturday.
With the visitors gaining confidence on the back of three straight wins and two clean sheets against strong opposition, we fancy them to come out on top again at the MKM Stadium.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
