Two sides level on 17 points in the top half of the Championship table will both look to return from the international break with a victory on Saturday, when they meet at the MKM Stadium.

The hosts dropped out of the playoff spots prior to the break with a three-match winless run, while their visitors returned to the top half with an upturn in form.

Match preview

On the back of the recent international break, Hull City find themselves ninth in the Championship after 11 outings on their return to action ahead of the weekend, thanks to an impressive start to their first full season under the management of Liam Rosenior.

Following an opening-day defeat to Norwich City, the Tigers would go on to pick up 15 points from their next seven-match span, going unbeaten and picking up four victories alongside three draws to put themselves among the division's frontrunners, as the run culminated in a 3-1 triumph away at Stoke City having also handed league leaders Leicester City their first and only loss of the term thus far.

The streak was stretched to eight matches in a 1-1 draw at home to Plymouth Argyle, as Regan Slater drew them level after Adam Randell's opener, before the Yorkshire outfit were finally handed a second league beating of the season, leaving Portman Road empty-handed as high-flying Ipswich Town scored a 3-0 victory courtesy of goals from Wes Burns, Conor Chaplin and Marcus Harness.

Aiming to quickly bounce back from that result and return to the top six, Hull then travelled to The Den to take on Millwall in their final game before the recent international break, and after going behind in the opening 10 minutes, they turned the game on its head through Jaden Philogene and Adama Traore in the first half, only to have to leave with a point as Joe Bryan again levelled the scores in the 54th minute.

With the international break having possibly come at a good time for Rosenior's men, who had started to see their form dip after the fine run across August and September, they will hope to come back from the rest with a home victory at the weekend with the chance to climb back into the playoff spots.

They welcome a Southampton side who also sit on 17 points with their sights set on the top six, having bounced back from a tough run prior to the break.

Following their relegation from the Premier League last term, the Saints tasked Russell Martin with inspiring an immediate return to the Premier League this season, but after collecting 10 points from their opening four outings, they hit a dismal run of form in September.

The Hampshire outfit quickly dropped down the table as they suffered four consecutive defeats, beginning with 5-0 and 4-1 beatings to Sunderland and Leicester City, before they succeeded in making a crucial return to winning ways at the end of the month at home to fellow relegated side Leeds United, as Adam Armstrong netted a first-half brace alongside Will Smallbone's goal.

Aiming to put that rut behind them and build a much-improved run of results, Martin's men then travelled to Stoke City and took three more important points with a 1-0 victory thanks to Stuart Armstrong's goal, before hosting strugglers Rotherham United in their final game before the break and having a possible growing winning run halted in an underwhelming 1-1 draw, having failed to make their domination count with Jordan Hugill levelling for the visitors in the 74th minute after Stuart Armstrong's early opener.

While that result will have left Southampton disappointed, they can certainly be pleased with their return to form before the break and will aim to mark their return with another run of results in the coming weeks, starting away at Hull on Saturday, as they look to rejoin the Championship's frontrunners.

Team News

Even after the international break, Hull City continue to deal with a couple of injury issues as Ozan Tufan and Harry Vaughan remain confined to the treatment room, although Greg Docherty and Allahyar Sayyadmanesh have completed comebacks from their layoffs.

Liam Rosenior switched to a back three shape for their trip to Millwall, and we could again see the same setup on Saturday with Alfie Jones, Sean McLoughlin and Jacob Greaves lining up in defence, while Jean-Michael Seri and Tyler Morton could again partner up in the engine room.

The Tigers have options to choose from in attack, with Aaron Connolly hoping to return to the front three having netted five league goals so far this term, with Adama Traore, Liam Delap and Scott Twine also having claims to keep their places, while Jaden Philogene will keep his place on the left flank having been a key man since his summer arrival from Aston Villa.

Southampton will remain without defender Jack Stephens and new attacker Ross Stewart on Saturday, as the pair continue to recover from injuries, and Martin will likely field a similar starting XI from their draw with Rotherham United.

In Stephens's ongoing absence, Jan Bednarek and Taylor Harwood-Bellis are bound to continue their centre-back partnership, while Kyle Walker-Peters and Ryan Manning will complete the back four, with Will Smallbone, Stuart Armstrong and Flynn Downes all hoping to keep their starting spots in midfield amid competiton from Joe Aribo and Shea Charles.

There are also plenty of options in attack, and while Adam Armstrong should certainly feature having already notched up seven league goals this season, Sekou Mara, Carlos Alcaraz, Samuel Edozie and Ryan Fraser are all vying to earn starts and displace Che Adams and Kamaldeen Sulemana.

Hull City possible starting lineup:
Allsop; Jones, McLoughlin, Greaves; Christie, Morton, Seri, Philogene; Delap, Connolly, Traore

Southampton possible starting lineup:
Bazunu; Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Harwood-Bellis, Manning; Smallbone, Downes, S Armstrong; A Armstrong, Alcaraz, Edozie

We say: Hull City 1-2 Southampton

Both of these sides possess plenty of quality, but the Saints should fancy themselves to mark their return to action with a victory at the weekend, after bouncing back to close to their best prior to the international break.


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