Plymouth Argyle and Hull City meet at Home Park on Saturday afternoon looking to record their first Championship win of the season.
Although Plymouth were able to get back on track in the EFL Cup, the same cannot be said for their opponents who bowed out of the competition.
Match preview
There are far more eyes on Plymouth this season than there normally would be with Wayne Rooney at the helm, and that may have played its part last Sunday.
The Pilgrims were comprehensively beaten by a ruthless Sheffield Wednesday side that run out 4-0 victors at Hillsborough, leaving Rooney with much to ponder.
A home EFL Cup tie against Cheltenham Town quickly became an important contest to ease a bit of pressure, everyone involved aware of the criticism that would come Rooney's way with defeat.
While it took an hour for Plymouth to break the deadlock, they were able to come through by a 3-0 scoreline, with three of their attacking players netting confidence-building goals.
Attention now turns back to the Championship with Plymouth attempting to extend their unbeaten streak in competitive matches at Home Park to five matches.
As for Hull, Tim Walter will be relatively content with his team's start to the campaign, even if they did suffer defeat to Sheffield Wednesday in the EFL Cup.
A 1-1 draw was earned against Bristol City last weekend, Oscar Estupinan netting a last-gasp penalty to earn a share of the spoils versus the Robins.
The Tigers then went down 2-1 to Wednesday with all three goals being scored in the opening 10 minutes, with the decisive one a glaring error by goalkeeper Anthony Racioppi.
Walter will hope that it is an isolated incident, yet Hull are now at a stage where they have failed to win in 10 games when taking notable friendlies into consideration.
- L
- L
- W
- D
- D
- L
Team News
Rooney has been left with the dilemma of needing to decide whether to stick with much of the side that defeated Cheltenham.
Aside from recalling the likes of Morgan Whittaker and Mustapha Bundu, it may be deemed logical to stick with a winning team.
Midfielder Adam Forshaw is another who may come back into the team if Rooney wants more experience in the engine room.
The Hull starting lineup will largely resemble the team from the Bristol City draw with several players having been rested in midweek.
Lewie Coyle, Xavier Simons and Estupinan should all return, but Jean Michael Seri may have to make do with a spot among the replacements.
Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Hazard; Edwards, Szucs, Pleguezuelo, Mumba; Randell, Gyabi; Issaka, Wright, Waine; Hardie
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Pandur; Coyle, Jones, McLoughlin, Jacob; Simons; Omur, Slater, Mehlem, Giles; Estupinan
We say: Plymouth Argyle 1-2 Hull City
With a convincing win under their belt on Wednesday, Rooney will be confident of replicating that performance in the league. However, we feel Hull may have too much quality for their hosts, even if they are still familiarising themselves with their new boss.
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