Hull City play host to Bristol City on Saturday afternoon looking to extend their unbeaten streak in the Championship to six matches.
The 19th-placed home side sit just four points adrift of the visitors, who have kept themselves out of trouble with two victories in three games.
Match preview
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There was a time not so long ago that Hull looked a near certainty to be relegated this season, a consequence of losing 11 of their opening 16 matches back in the second tier.
However, Grant McCann has spearheaded an unforeseen turnaround, the Tigers posting four successive wins before last weekend's 1-1 draw at Reading.
Such has been Hull's resurgence that there would have been disappointment following the share of the spoils at the Madejski Stadium, but McCann will view it as another point gained in the battle to avoid the drop.
Even with Hull sitting six points clear of 22nd-placed Peterborough United, McCann will want his team to take one game at a time, but the magnitude of Saturday's game cannot be ignored.
The goals continue to be shared around this squad with Mallik Wilks netting his third strike last weekend, but McCann will be calling on the 22-year-old and Keane Lewis-Potter to start finding the back of the net on a more regular basis.
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Nigel Pearson also falls into the bracket of managers who have saved their jobs in recent weeks with Bristol City collecting 10 points from seven games.
While it has not been enough to conclusively keep the Robins out of trouble, they now sit 10 points above the relegation zone as they approach the halfway stage of the campaign.
After over eight months without a win at Ashton Gate, Bristol City have now posted three wins and a draw from four games, the latest success coming by a 1-0 scoreline over Derby County.
Although Pearson's team only sit eight points adrift of the playoffs, they must first focus their attention on progressing into the mid-table spots before the start of the Christmas period.
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Team News
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Barring any late injury issues, McCann could start with the Hull XI from the Reading game.
The Tigers have lined up with the same side for two games in succession, and there is no reason why that will not continue at the weekend.
Pearson may also be prepared to stick with his Bristol City starting lineup from the win over Derby.
Matty James made a welcome return off the substitutes' bench, but Pearson should keep faith with Tyreeq Bakinson and Han-Noah Massengo.
Jay Dasilva and Nahki Wells are likely to remain among the replacements, while Nathan Baker will again miss out through concussion.
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Baxter; Bernard, McLoughlin, Greaves; Longman, Smallwood, Docherty, Lewis-Potter; Honeyman; Wilks, Magennis
Bristol City possible starting lineup:
Bentley; Vyner, Kalas, Atkinson; Scott, Bakinson, Massengo, O'Dowda; Weimann; Martin, Semenyo
We say: Hull City 1-1 Bristol City
Now that distance has been established above the bottom three, neither club will want to lose this fixture. With that in mind, do not be surprised if an uneventful draw plays out on Humberside, a result which will suit both teams.
Top tip
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 46.37%. A draw had a probability of 26.8% and a win for Bristol City had a probability of 26.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Hull City win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.59%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.94%) and 2-0 (8.89%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.65%), while for a Bristol City win it was 0-1 (8.96%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 4.5% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a draw in this match.
