Leeds United will make the short trip to take on Hull City on Wednesday, as both sides aim to continue positive runs in the early stages of the Championship season.
Thanks to a five-game unbeaten run, the hosts sit fifth in the league table after six outings, while the newly-relegated visitors have gone four games of their own without a defeat including two wins from their last three matches.
Match preview
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After Liam Rosenior's appointment as manager last November and an eventual 15th-placed Championship finish, Hull City headed into the new campaign, and their first full one under the boss, with plenty of optimism and desire to improve.
They have certainly made a positive start in England's second tier, despite coming away from their curtain-raiser away at Norwich City empty-handed, as the Tigers quickly put their first points on the board with a 4-2 beating of Sheffield Wednesday courtesy of Ozan Tufan's hat-trick and an Aaron Connolly goal.
Rosenior's men would make it back-to-back three-point hauls with a 2-1 triumph away at Blackburn Rovers, having come from behind thanks to a Connolly brace in the final 10 minutes, before playing out a 1-1 draw with Bristol City and continuing their impressive start by ending newly-relegated Leicester City's perfect record before the international break, as Liam Delap hit the only goal of the game at the King Power Stadium.
That eye-catching result saw the Tigers head into the first international break of the term with 10 points from their opening five games and in the midst of a four-match unbeaten run, and that streak continued on their return to action on Friday, again thanks to a late Connolly goal, as he forced a 1-1 draw with an 87th-minute leveller after Joel Latibeaudiere put the visitors ahead in the first half.
Now sitting fifth having certainly impressed in the opening stages of the term, Rosenior's men will aim to keep building momentum and further improve their standing in the leading pack with another positive result in what is a difficult test on Wednesday.
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They meet a Leeds United side who are gaining momentum of their own in their bid to make an immediate return to the Premier League under the new management of Daniel Farke.
Following their relegation and the noticeable change in management and squad over the summer, the Yorkshire outfit struggled to make a fast start to the campaign, only managing to earn a point from a 2-2 draw with Cardiff City thanks to Crysencio Summerville's injury-time equaliser, before losing 1-0 in the following league encounter away at Birmingham City and only being able to take another share of the spoils at home to West Bromwich Albion as the game ended level at a goal apiece.
Left disappointed with just two points from their opening three outings, the Whites do appear to have improved their fortunes recently, firstly putting a first victory on the board in dramatic fashion away at Ipswich Town, as Georginio Rutter, Wilfried Gnonto, Joel Piroe and Luis Sinisterra all found the net in an eventual 4-3 win, before they headed into the international break on the back of an admittedly underwhelming goalless stalemate at home to Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday.
On their return to action, Farke's side travelled to The Den to take on Millwall on Sunday, and they came out on top after a dominant display, with Piroe putting them ahead in the 15th minute and adding a second 13 minutes from time, before Rutter netted his side's third soon after in a 3-0 victory.
Now hoping to have put their slow start behind them and kick on as frontrunners in the Championship with their sights set on promotion, Leeds will seek to make it consecutive league wins for the first time this calendar year.
Team News
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As was the case last time out, Hull City will head into Wednesday's game without Greg Docherty, Dogukan Sinik and key midfielder Ozan Tufan, with the trio all confined to the treatment room, and Liam Rosenior may look to deploy an unchanged starting XI, albeit with the likes of Cyrus Christie and new Liverpool loanee Tyler Morton fighting to come in from the outset.
The Tigers should line up with the same new-look front four, with Aaron Connolly bound to again lead the line having netted four Championship goals in six appearances this term since making his loan move from Brighton & Hove Albion permanent, in front of the supporting trio of Liam Delap, Scott Twine and Jaden Philogene, all of whom arrived in the summer transfer window.
Behind them, Morton will hope to displace either Regan Slater or Jean-Michael Seri in the engine room, while Alfie Jones and Jacob Greaves are bound to continue their partnership in the middle of the back four.
Daniel Farke will likely deploy an unchanged Leeds United starting XI from their 3-0 victory over Millwall, with Joel Piroe bound to again star in attack, having already netted three goals in just three Championship appearances for the Whites following a switch from Swansea City.
He and Georginio Rutter will operate through the middle, while following the summer departures of the likes of Jack Harrison, Luis Sinisterra and Brenden Aaronson, Wilfried Gnonto and Crysencio Summerville should again start on the flanks, albeit with competition from the likes of Daniel James, Joe Gelhardt and Bournemouth loanee Jaidon Anthony.
Behind them, 17-year-old Archie Gray will continue to join summer signing Ethan Ampadu in the engine room, having both impressed in the early stages of the campaign, while Pascal Struijk and Tottenham Hotspur loanee Joe Rodon will both keep their places in the middle of a back four in the continued absence of captain Liam Cooper through injury.
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Ingram; Coyle, Jones, Greaves, Christie; Slater, Seri; Delap, Twine, Philogene; Connolly
Leeds United possible starting lineup:
Meslier; Ayling, Struijk, Rodon, Byram; Gray, Ampadu; Summerville, Piroe, Gnonto; Rutter
We say: Hull City 1-2 Leeds United
Hull City will certainly be full of optimism ahead of Wednesday's clash and they possess the tools to cause the newly-relegated Whites problems, but Leeds United are gaining momentum quickly with an abundance of quality in their ranks, and we fancy Farke's men to score another three-point haul in midweek.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
