Separated by just two places and three points in the lower echelons of the Championship standings, relegation-battling Hull City and Plymouth Argyle scrap it out at the MKM Stadium on Tuesday night.
Miron Muslic's men will draw level with their hosts with victory in the midweek matchup, although the Tigers' significantly superior goal difference means that the visitors should remain below the dotted line no matter what.
Match preview
Experiencing a wide range of emotions over the past two matchdays, Hull City fans went from revelling in an unexpected 1-0 win away to promotion-chasing Sunderland to lamenting an identical loss to fellow bottom-half battlers Cardiff City by the same scoreline last week.
Callum Robinson's 12th Championship strike of the season was sufficient to deny Ruben Selles's men back-to-back wins for the first time in 2025, as well as extinguishing their chances of going three second-tier games without defeat for the first time since the turn of the year.
Granted a rare weekend off from competitive action due to other teams' FA Cup commitments, the Tigers are still hovering just above the danger zone in 21st place in the standings, two points ahead of Luton Town having played a game fewer than the Hatters.
Last Wednesday's game and others aside, Selles's men largely have their exploits on the road to thank for the fact that they are still above the dotted line, as they come into the midweek battle possessing the worst home record of any team in the division.
Indeed, the Tigers have collected a meagre 13 points from 17 games at their MKM Stadium headquarters this season - going winless in each of their last six at home in all competitions - but they now coincidentally square up to the side propping up the away form table.
The Championship's worst home team welcomes the Championship's worst away team for Tuesday's bottom-half battle, as lowly Plymouth Argyle only have a paltry five points to show for their efforts on the road so far, all of which have been accrued in draws.
To put that abysmal record into even greater context, the visitors are the only team in England's top four divisions without an away league victory in the 2024-25 campaign and are the eighth Championship side to ever go winless in their first 17 road matches of a season; each of the previous seven were relegated.
The odds are therefore stacked against an Argyle side who have also scored just six times on rival turf in the current Championship campaign, but they defied their horrific road record to break the deadlock at the home of Premier League champions Manchester City in Saturday's FA Cup fifth-round tie.
Pep Guardiola's charges inevitably turned the tide to win 3-1, but the proud look on Muslic's face as he applauded the away supporters was more than justified, and defeat at the Etihad marked just their second loss from their last eight matches across all competitions.
Furthermore, a 1-1 stalemate with Hull at Home Park in August extended Plymouth's run without defeat against Hull to three matches, although just one of the Argyle's last six clashes with the Tigers has seen them prevail, a 1-0 triumph on their own patch 10 months ago.
Team News
The injury gods have been anything but kind to Hull City this season, as the Tigers have now lost yet another player to an ACL injury in the shape of Eliot Matazo, who sustained the season-ending problem in the first half of the Cardiff defeat.
Liam Millar and Mohamed Belloumi are both still on the road to recovery from similar injuries, while Aston Villa loanee Louie Barry has returned to his parent club after also suffering a similarly severe knee problem in the win over Sunderland.
Either Gustavo Puerta or Steven Alzate will be given the nod to deputise for Matazo in the centre of the Tigers' pack, but Sean McLoughlin is fine after being forced off with a back problem versus Cardiff.
However, Matt Crooks suffered a facial injury in training and is now a major doubt, so Joao Pedro is a prime contender to return to the two-pronged attack.
On the other hand, Plymouth came out of their battling loss to Man City with no new fitness concerns to contend with, and there was a welcome return to the matchday squad for captain Joe Edwards, who was an unused substitute after recovering from the hamstring injury he suffered in late October.
However, Muslic will still be missing Michael Obafemi (unspecified), Muhamed Tijani (hamstring), Brendan Galloway (hip) and Ryan Hardie (unspecified) on Tuesday, while Adam Randell is touch-and-go.
Meanwhile, towering Ukrainian centre-back Maksym Talovierov is bidding to score in three straight away matches here, having broken the deadlock at Man City after also heading home the equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Luton Town on February 19.
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Pandur; Coyle, Hughes, Jones, Drameh; Kamara, Puerta, Slater, Lincoln; Gelhardt, Pedro
Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Hazard; Talovierov, Katic, Pleguezuelo; Sorinola, Houghton, Gyabi, Ogbeta; Mumba, Wright; Bundu
We say: Hull City 1-1 Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth should have made the long journey south from Manchester with their heads held high, but the visitors still cannot buy a win on the road in the second tier, while the Tigers' shocking home record speaks for itself.
Selles's men will at least boast the fresher legs, but if Muslic's men can replicate their defensive sturdiness from Saturday - at least from the first half - they will be more than good enough for a point.
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