A 2-0 victory at the Stadium of Light saw the Hoops finally pick up their first away points of the season, at the 12th attempt, and earned Chris Ramsey the manager's job on an interim basis until the end of the campaign.

New Aston Villa boss Tim Sherwood, Real Madrid assistant Paul Clement and ex-Swansea City manager Michael Laudrup had all been linked with the vacancy before owner Tony Fernandes handed Ramsey the reins.

Having previously tweeted that he was close to sealing his "dream" appointment, Fernandes has seemingly backtracked to claim that the former Tottenham Hotspur coach had always been a perfect candidate for the role.

Regardless of whom may have been lined up before him, Ramsey has now been guaranteed the job permanently should he keep Rangers in the Premier League, and thus has extra motivation to guide them to safety.

Steve Bruce's future could also depend on Hull's end-of-season destiny and so he will be encouraged by a four-point haul from their two February fixtures to date, having previously gone four games without a win or a goal.

A draw at Manchester City, where they were only denied maximum points by a stoppage-time equaliser, was followed by a 2-0 victory over fellow strugglers Villa in which new striker Dame N'Doye opened his Hull account.

Bruce could name an unchanged side for the visit of Rangers, with Paul McShane now back in favour and keeping club captain Curtis Davies out in defence, and N'Doye partnering Nikica Jelavic in a 3-5-2 system.

James Chester, who scored the only goal as the Tigers beat QPR on the opening day of the season, Mohamed Diame, Liam Rosenior and Robert Snodgrass remain long-term absentees for the injury-hit hosts.

QPR have their own share of injury worries, with Leroy Fer and Mauricio Isla having joined Nedum Onuoha, Alejandro Faurlin and Richard Dunne on the sidelines and Sandro still working his way back to full fitness.

A major relief for the visitors, though, will be that 13-goal top scorer Charlie Austin, who is responsible for half of their league goals this season, has overcome a foot problem and is in line to start on his own up front. Bobby Zamora scored in the success over the Black Cats, but may make way.

Fer's injury could see Eduardo Vargas given another chance on the wing, with the rejuvenated Matty Phillips on the opposite flank. Behind them, Clint Hill and Yun Suk-young could operate as relatively makeshift full-backs.

Hull:

Form in Premier League: WLLLDW
Form in all competitions: LLLLDW

Possible starting lineup: McGregor; McShane, Bruce, Dawson; Elmohamady, Meyler, Livermore, Huddlestone, Brady; Jelavic, N'Doye

QPR:

Form in Premier League: DLLLLW
Form in all competitions: LLLLLW

Possible starting lineup: Green; Yun, Caulker, Ferdinand, Hill; Barton, Henry; Philipps, Kranjcar, Vargas; Austin

Sports Mole says: 1-1