Hull City will bid to keep any faint hopes of cracking the playoff places in the Championship table alive on Saturday, when they entertain Queens Park Rangers.
The hosts currently trail sixth-placed Norwich City by six points with a game in hand, while their visitors will aim to move out of sight in the fight for survival after their recent improvement.
Match preview
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With five games of the Championship season left to play, Hull City find themselves fighting to remain in the playoff picture ahead of the weekend, having seemingly improved their fortunes after a tough run around the March international break.
Following three consecutive away wins in February, Liam Rosenior's side sat in a particularly strong position in the top-six race with 54 points on the board from 33 league outings, but they would go on to fail to win any of their next six outings, firstly playing out four straight draws prior to the break before returning to action and suffering consecutive defeats to Stoke City and Leeds United on the Easter weekend.
Seeking to end that rut and their slide away from sixth spot, the Tigers then travelled to Cardiff City last weekend and succeeded in returning to winning ways, sealing three crucial points in a 3-1 victory thanks to Fabio Carvalho's first-half brace and Jaden Philogene's goal on the hour mark, before welcoming ninth-placed Middlesbrough to the MKM Stadium for a true six-pointer on Wednesday.
After going behind in the first five minutes of that contest, Rosenior's men turned the game on its head through Philogene and Jean-Michael Seri before the interval, but they were unable to hold on for a second straight win, instead sharing the points as Finn Azaz levelled for the visitors 19 minutes from time.
Having remained on the fringe of the playoff picture thanks to their improved pair of results, albeit with Middlesbrough's equaliser providing a slight blow and a tough challenge to overcome with Norwich six points ahead after a game more and Coventry City, Preston North End and Middlesbrough also better off, Hull City head into their final five outings knowing a run of wins is required to stand a chance of cracking the top six this term.
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In their way stand a visiting Queens Park Rangers side who will also bid to return to winning ways in their battle at the other end of the division, having quickly moved into a strong position in the fight for Championship survival this season.
After spending the majority of the campaign in the drop zone in England's second tier, the London outfit were able to turn their season around early in the new year under the stewardship of Marti Cifuentes, collecting 25 points from a 13-match span culminating in back-to-back wins over Birmingham City and Swansea City over the Easter Weekend to move six points clear of the relegation spots.
Given how tight the bottom third of the division is, though, the Rs are yet to do enough to guarantee their second-tier status for next season, having failed to further extend their cushion in the last two attempts, firstly falling to a 2-0 defeat at home to 22nd-placed Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday before meeting fellow relegation-battlers Plymouth Argyle on Tuesday and sharing the spoils on Tuesday at Home Park.
Sam Field eventually broke the deadlock and gave the Rs a lead in the 73rd minute of that contest, but his side were unable to hold on for another three-point haul as an Albert Adomah own goal five minutes from time forced a 1-1 draw.
While they are certainly in a pleasing position compared to their standing around the turn of the year and beforehand, QPR do now only lead the bottom three by four points with four games left to play, with the five teams between also within touching distance, and they will be desperate to move further clear and all but cement their safety with a victory on the travels at the weekend.
Team News
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Hull City remain without forward Liam Delap on Saturday, with the Manchester City loanee having been absent since New Year's Day, and Rosenior may opt to deploy an unchanged starting XI from the midweek draw with Middlesbrough.
In their 4-4-2 setup, Ozan Tufan could again lead a makeshift attack alongside Fabio Carvalho, who has netted seven goals in 15 Championship appearances since arriving on loan from Liverpool in January, while Jaden Philogene has been their star man going forward so far this term, notching up 10 goals and six assists in 27 league games.
One change could come in defence, with Ryan Giles vying to return on the left-hand side after settling for a substitute appearance on Wednesday, while Regan Slater has recently lined up in a right-back role with Jean-Michael Seri and Tyler Morton being preferred in midfield.
Marti Cifuentes may opt to shuffle his QPR squad somewhat given their quickfire pair of away trips, with Chris Willock hoping to come into the starting XI in an attacking capacity and Jake Clarke-Salter vying to return to the defence from the outset.
Striker Michael Frey has missed their last two outings after arriving in January, meaning Lyndon Dykes should again lead the line despite competition from Sinclair Armstrong, while Willock could join Lucas Andersen and Ilias Chair in support.
Cifuentes's options are also limited in midfield somewhat, with Jack Colback set to remain sidelined, likely leaving Isaac Hayden and Tuesday's scorer Sam Field to continue their partnership in the engine room.
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Allsop; Slater, Jones, Greaves, Giles; Omur, Morton, Seri, Philogene; Tufan, Carvalho
Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Begovic; Dunne, Cook, Clarke-Salter, Paal; Field, Hayden; Willock, Andersen, Chair; Dykes
We say: Hull City 2-1 Queens Park Rangers
Knowing only a victory will suffice if they are to remain in the playoff hunt, and with home advantage on their side and superior quality to the visitors, we back Hull City to prevail in a crucial battle on Saturday.
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Sam Varley
