Huddersfield Town will square off against Hull City on Friday evening looking to end a three-match winless streak in the Championship.
While the Terriers currently sit in fourth position in the standings, Hull are down in 20th place, 13 points clear of the relegation zone.
Match preview
There was a time at the start of March when Carlos Corberan would have been dreading the international break, aware that it had the potential to rid his Huddersfield side of their momentum.
However, that already occurred well before the break in action, the Terriers following an 18-match unbeaten run with a four-match period without a victory.
Their last two results in the Championship have also ended in defeat, Huddersfield going down 2-0 at Millwall before succumbing tamely at home to promotion rivals Bournemouth.
Had the Yorkshire outfit prevailed in that contest, they would have sat level on points with the Cherries, but they instead find themselves braced for a battle just to remain in the top six.
A fixture with third-placed Luton Town is also just around the corner, heaping the pressure on Corberan and his squad to deliver on Humberside.
While Hull have less to play for than their next opponents, head coach Shota Arveladze is aware that he may require a strong end to the campaign to convince the powers-that-be of his credentials.
Just 12 points have been recorded from as many fixtures, although the positives will be taken from their last nine points all being accumulated away from the MKM Stadium.
However, that also means that the Tigers have suffered five successive defeats on familiar territory, by far the worst run in the division and leaving the club with the poorest home record in the second tier.
All things considered, Arveladze and the club's supporters will be pleased to see the back of this season, but they still have four promotion challengers and a relegation-threatened team to play during the run-in.
- L
- W
- L
- D
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- D
- L
- L
- W
- W
- L
- D
- L
- L
Team News
Having contributed an assist as a substitute last time out, Marcus Forss will hope to earn a recall to the Hull XI.
That would allow George Honeyman to drop back into a deeper role, potentially taking the spot of Greg Docherty.
Lewie Coyle and Tyler Smith are back in contention after injury, the former in contention to return at right wing-back.
Corberan will consider a change in system and personnel for this fixture, particularly the latter given Huddersfield's capitulation versus Bournemouth.
While Levi Colwill may not be risked after playing for the full 90 minutes for England Under-21s on Tuesday, Josh Koroma appears likely to replace Daniel Sinani.
Tino Anjorin will be hoping to make his first start since his arrival from Chelsea in January.
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Ingram; Jones, McLoughlin, Greaves; Coyle, Smallwood, Honeyman, Elder; Lewis-Potter; Forss, Eaves
Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Nicholls; Turton, Pearson, Lees, Toffolo; Thomas, Russell, O'Brien, Holmes; Koroma, Ward
We say: Hull City 1-2 Huddersfield Town
Given the recent inconsistencies of both teams, this fixture feels like a hard one to call. However, while Hull will fancy their chances of causing the upset and realistically guaranteeing their second-tier status in the process, we feel that Huddersfield will do just enough to earn a crucial three points.
Top tip
body check tags ::
Previews by email
