Hull City and Preston North End square off in the Championship on Saturday afternoon with the two teams locked on the same points in the standings.
Although the home side sit in 13th place and are ahead of Preston on goals scored, the visitors to the MKM Stadium possess a game in hand.
Match preview
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Such has been Hull's improvement since the arrival of Liam Rosenior that many of their supporters would have expected to earn at least a point at Norwich City in midweek.
However, the Tigers failed to build on taking the lead at Carrow Road, eventually going down by a 3-1 scoreline to end a three-match undefeated streak which have been accompanied by clean sheets.
Rosenior will accept that the nature of the Championship means that defeats are common practice, yet there will be disappointment that his team have failed to prevail in their last two fixtures.
Hull remain in the mid-table spots, 11 points above the relegation zone, but Rosenior and his squad will currently only be focused on trying to close down the six-point gap to the playoff places.
Despite their home form generally being average for the majority of the season, Hull have avoided defeat in their most recent five league outings at the MKM Stadium.
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That will be put to the test by opponents in Preston who possess the fourth-best away record in the division, winning eight of their 15 fixtures.
Although they were comprehensively beaten by leaders Burnley in their most recent away fixture, victories had been recorded in their previous two trips to Stoke City and Birmingham City.
In midweek, Ryan Lowe's side required a late penalty to earn a 1-1 draw versus Luton Town, a result made all the more impressive given that Preston had been down to 10 men from the 50th minute.
Nevertheless, Preston have still won just three of their 10 games since the resumption after the World Cup, a return which needs to improve if they are to remain as dark horses for the top six.
Team News
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Despite defeat to Norwich earlier this week, Rosenior is unlikely to over-react and retain much of the same Hull XI.
With Aaron Connolly unlikely to return from a foot injury, Benjamin Tetteh will hope to retain his spot alongside Oscar Estupinan in attack.
Lewie Coyle, Greg Docherty and Ozan Tufan are all options if Rosenior wishes to introduce fresh legs.
As well as being without Ched Evans due to a suspension, Ben Whiteman is also absent for Preston courtesy of his dismissal in midweek.
Alan Browne could drop into a deeper midfield role, allowing for either Ben Woodburn or Daniel Johnson to return, while Liam Delap may replace Thomas Cannon.
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Ingram; Christie, Jones, McLoughlin, Greaves; Slater, Woods, Seri, Longman; Estupinan, Tetteh
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Storey, Cunningham, Hughes; Potts, Browne, McCann, Fernandez; Johnson; Parrott, Delap
We say: Hull City 1-1 Preston North End
With just six points separating these teams and the playoffs, the opportunity remains to gate-crash the promotion race. However, these are two well-matched sides, and a low-scoring draw which would not benefit either club appears to be the most likely outcome.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Darren Plant
