A resurgent Hull City will be aiming for a fourth consecutive victory when they host mid-table Millwall in the Championship on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers' recent hot streak has moved them up to 19th in the table and three points above the relegation zone, while the Lions are 10th and four points behind the playoffs.
Match preview
© Reuters
Hull looked in deep trouble at the start of the month having lost five games in a row, but a 1-0 triumph over Cardiff City on Wednesday night was their third successive win without conceding.
Keane Lewis-Potter scored the only goal of the game in South Wales, meaning that the Tigers have doubled their points tally for the season in the space of two-and-a-half weeks.
With a trip to 21st-placed Reading to come next weekend, Grant McCann will sense an opportunity to build some much needed momentum at last; they are aiming for four consecutive wins in the second tier for the first time since January 2019.
However, only Cardiff have picked up fewer points at home in the Championship this season than Hull, while the Tigers are also the second-lowest scorers in the division.
© Reuters
Millwall are one of only two sides in the Championship with a current goal difference of zero, having scored 19 and conceded 19.
Perhaps that is unsurprising considering that they have also recorded the second-most draws in the league this season (nine), behind only Derby County (10).
The South London side's last three games have all ended level, with Benik Afobe's second-half equaliser earning them a point in a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth on Wednesday.
Gary Rowett felt as if his team actually deserved to beat the Cherries, with the Lions coping well with the threat posed by their high-flying opponents.
Millwall have only won two of their nine away matches this season but have also only lost two of those as well.
- L
- L
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
- D
- D
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Callum Elder suffered a clash of heads against Cardiff and had to be substituted on the stroke of half-time, so will be assessed of the game.
Di'Shon Bernard is likely to replace Elder in the back three after the Manchester United loanee missed the trip to South Wales through suspension.
Keane Lewis-Potter's goal against the Bluebirds was his second in three games after an eight-match drought.
Millwall will have Jake Cooper back available after the centre-back was suspended for the game against Bournemouth.
Ryan Leonard was also absent against the Cherries due to an ankle injury and will be assessed ahead of the trip to the MKM Stadium.
George Evans and Tom Bradshaw are two of the players in the Lions squad pushing for a start.
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Baxter; Bernard, McLoughlin, Greaves; Lewis-Potter, Smallwood, Docherty, Longman; Honeyman; Magennis, Wilks
Millwall possible starting lineup:
Bialkowski; Ballard, Hutchinson, Cooper; McNamara, Saville, Mitchell, Malone; Wallace, Bradshaw; Afobe
We say: Hull City 0-0 Millwall
We think four wins in a row might be one step too far for Hull, particularly against a stubborn Millwall side who have lost just one of their last seven. We expect the Tigers to still get something out of the game though and are predicting it to end all square.
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 Millwall win with a probability of 35.84%. A win for Hull City had a probability of 35.36% and a draw had a probability of 28.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Millwall win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.95%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (7.52%) and 0-2 (6.73%). The likeliest Hull City win was 1-0 (11.84%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.34%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 7.5% likelihood.