Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Premier League meeting between Hull City and Aston Villa at the KC Stadium.

These two sides are currently struggling at the bottom end of the table and in desperate need of three points here tonight. Positives have been few and far between of late, although both Villa and Hull will take varying degrees of optimism away from their last outings in the knowledge that they can kick-start their respective seasons with a win on Humberside.

Kickoff in this big clash at the bottom of the division is now less than an hour away, so let's begin by taking a look at how the two teams line up...

TEAM NEWS!

ASTON VILLA STARTING XI: Guzan, Hutton, Okore, Clark, Cissokho, Westwood, Delph, Gil, Sinclair, Agbonlahor, Weimann

HULL CITY STARTING XI: McGregor, Dawson, Bruce, McShane, Elmohamady, Brady, Huddlestone, Livermore, Meyler, Jelavic, N'Doye

So the big news as far as the visitors are concerned surrounds Christian Benteke, who has been left out of the starting lineup for the second matchday running. The Belgian has been out of form since returning from a lengthy injury layoff, although he was expected to slot back in for this evening's match. That is not the case, however, with Andreas Weimann and Gabriel Agbonlahor expected to lead the attack in a 4-4-2 set up.

Villa boss Paul Lambert has also opted to change things around in the middle with Tom Cleverley having been omitted from the starting XI (to the relief of many visiting supporters, no doubt), while Scott Sinclair has been handed his first start for the club in a wide midfield berth. Ron Vlaar is back from a five-week spell on the sidelines, but only fit enough for a place among the substitutes.

There's also news of a first start to bring you as far as the hosts are concerned, as January recruit Dame N'Doye comes into the fold. He enjoyed his first taste of English football in the weekend draw against Manchester City, and this evening he gets the chance to show what he can do from the off at the KC Stadium. He will play alongside the returning Nikica Jelavic, who has had to contend with a knee injury in recent weeks.

They are the only two changes made by manager Steve Bruce from that 1-1 draw last time out, with Sone Aluko and Gaston Ramirez the men to make way. As expected, Mohamed Diame misses out due to a long-standing injury, although there is some good news as he is likely to return in a fortnights' time.

BENCH WATCH!

HULL CITY SUBSTITUTES: Harper, Davies, Robertson, Quinn, Ramirez, Hernandez, Aluko

ASTON VILLA SUBSTITUTES: Given, Vlaar, Bacuna, Cleverley, Benteke, Sanchez, Cole

Villa have named a strong bench this evening, then, with the aforementioned Benteke and Cleverley joining the likes of Joe Cole, Leandro Bacuna and Dutch international Ron Vlaar, who is still not fit enough to play a full 90 minutes. Ramirez and Aluko will provide attacking options for the Tigers should they be needed, while Andrew Robertson is again among the backups as far as the defensive options are concerned.

A Premier League game under the lights always has a special feel to it:

HULL v VILLA build-up pic: Here's a look pitchside at the KC Stadium this evening. #AVFC pic.twitter.com/yIMdGvU5lo — Aston Villa FC (@AVFCOfficial) February 10, 2015

Well as already touched upon, this really is a massive game for both sides who, with three months of the season remaining, are well and truly caught up in a relegation fight. The tightness of the bottom-half of the Premier League means that win for either side tonight will see them push away from danger for the time being, whereas defeat will draw a dark cloud over things. Hull come into the game sitting two points behind Villa, meaning that the onus is very much on them to get the win in front of their home supporters, but don't for a minute expect the Villans to sit back and settle for a point.

Having covered Hull's game at Man City on the weekend, it is likely that the Tigers will come into this game feeling in a far more confident mood than they would have done seven days ago. They may have conceded a cruel late goal, but the Tigers had a lot to be proud of from their display at the Etihad. It was by no means a snatch-and-grab performance, either, taking a well-deserved lead through David Meyler shortly after hitting the crossbar. From that point on it was all about remaining compact and holding out, with a point a decent return away at the champions.

Of course, that draw also helped stopped a real rot which saw the Humbersiders lose five games in a row in league and cup. It is still just the two wins in 17 games, however, meaning that whichever way you look at it this is real relegation form. Hull quite simply need to start picking up points if they are to turn their season around before it's too late, and with a nice run of fixtures coming up that unlikely point at the Etihad Stadium could act as a springboard to push on here tonight. Should they pick up victory, they will leapfrog the Villans and at the same time put another side between them and the drop zone.

It was therefore unsurprising to hear Bruce describe this game as being "one of the biggest" during his time in charge of the club; a spell which has seen him take the Tigers from the Championship into the Premier League with an FA Cup final along the way. Last season certainly didn't help expectation levels coming into this campaign, of course, but Bruce is a man who knows what it takes to remain afloat in this division, and he will no doubt be taking it in his stride.

The former Manchester United defender has been heavily linked with the Fulham job in recent days, something which he played down in his pre-match press conference, although this just goes to highlight how highly thought of he is by those looking to reach the top flight - and indeed stay there. Bruce brought in another former Red Devil in the form of Mike Phelan last week to join his coaching staff, and if Hull's first assignment, which came away at the champions, is anything to go by then it is a partnership which could work very well indeed.

The story at Villa Park is almost identical, with supporters of the club once more finding themselves stressing over relegation rather than a season of mid-table mediocrity - the latter would certainly be snatched at right about now. Make no mistake about it; Paul Lambert is a man under real pressure at this moment in time, and defeat at the KC Stadium will see the pressure turn up just that little more. There were certainly positives to take from the weekend defeat at Chelsea, not least a first goal in 11 hours of play, yet points are needed on the board to start that ascent up the table.

Like Hull, Villa have a nice run of fixtures coming up against sides you would expect them to beat. 'Expect' being the key word there because the West Midlands outfit are in their current predicament for a reason - they are losing far more games than they win. No victory in the Premier League since December 7 ensures that the Villans sit just two points above tonight's opposition in the table, hovering agonisingly close above the drop zone. That winless run stretches back nine games, four of which have been lost on the bounce. Whichever way you look at it, things are very bleak for Villa at the moment.

...and he has a new purchase to call upon this evening in the shape of Dame N'Doye, one of two changes for the Tigers:

"You are only as good as what you have got at the top end of the pitch" - Steve Bruce ahead of #HULAVL pic.twitter.com/LFtOb5NjFu

— Premier League (@premierleague) February 10, 2015

While Villa ended that barren run in front of goal last time out, their record in that department is still nothing short of abysmal this campaign. The league's lowest scorers with 12 goals in 24 games, no side in the division shoots less frequently that the Villans which is a worrying concern. Benteke has been dropped from the start once again this evening, so maybe a switch to 4-4-2 could help bring some added attacking impetus.

DID YOU KNOW? Hull have the worst home record in the top flight this season with just nine points to their name so far. They have also failed to score in six of their last seven games at the KC Stadium, so if they want maximum points tonight something has to give. Just as worryingly for the Tigers' survival hopes, no side has dropped more points in the final minute of a game than Bruce's men; that crushing blow at the Etihad Stadium taking the tally to five points dropped this term.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS: The omens are looking good for the visitors if past meetings are anything to go by, with Villa having gone seven games without tasting defeat against their opponents, including a 2-1 win in the reverse fixture earlier this campaign. In fact, you have to go way back to 1967 to find the last time Hull came out on top - a 3-2 triumph in the old Division Two.

PREDICTION: It's worth mentioning that just one side, Queens Park Rangers, has picked up less points that Aston Villa and Hull City over the past six games. These two sides are massively out of form, and yet there is still some hope to cling on to. Defeat on Humberside this evening will see that smashed to pieces, though, with one set of supporters likely to go home knowing that their side is in a real fight to survive. On the back of the hosts' display against Man City on the weekend, I'm going to back them to take a 2-1 victory.

There are three other fixtures in the Premier League this evening, incidentally, with QPR and Sunderland - both directly involved in the fight at the bottom - also in action. All attention now turns to the KC Stadium, however, with both sets of players now making their way out onto the field.

There is just enough time to point you in the direction of the Sports Mole Sofa preview for this evening's huge clash at the bottom of the table:

KICKOFF! All the talking is over, as Villa get things underway at the KC Stadium. These sides will take a win no matter how it comes about at the moment, so can either make a strong early start?

Villa are the side enjoying an early spell on the ball, knocking it around their own half without asking any real questions of their opponents. Cissokho has just taken a clattering from Jelavic which he wasn't happy about, and rightly so. That should have been an early booking for the Croatian.

N'Doye has looked lively in the opening few minutes of his first start, using his strength to keep hold of the ball and looking to link up with Jelavic in attack. There's a nice feel to this game at this stage, as both sides look to get hold of the ball and push forward.

Guzan has certainly been the busier of the two keepers so far, racing out of a couple of occasions to clear long balls over the top as well as punching a cross or two clear of danger. N'Doye was almost played in over the top by one of those searching balls, although he was narrowly offside.

Villa have been in possession for a couple of minutes but are getting absolutely nowhere because of Hull's solid structure, which was saw in abundance on the weekend. Ten men were behind the ball a few minutes ago, with just N'Doye left up the field. Carles Gil looks the Villans' best bet to make a way through at the moment.

SHOT! That probing from Villa leads to the game's first shot, which Weimann blasts well wide of target. They may be restricted to a fair few attempts from range this evening if these early stages are anything to go by.

It's the away side who have looked better on the ball over the last five minutes, without really threatening too much. Agbonlahor worked the channel after being picked out by Weimann, but he couldn't find his teammate with an overhit return ball into the middle.

SHOT! Clark is guilty of losing the ball, and N'Doye doesn't need a second invitation to get a shot away which is all rather easy for Guzan down the middle. The January signing certainly doesn't lack confidence.

We've endured our first real quiet spell of the game over the past few minutes, with neither side able to keep hold of the ball long enough to cause any danger. Elmohamady went on one of his trademark bursts down the right, although he fell just short when it came to picking out a teammate with his cross.

SHOT! Some good play from City ends with Huddlestone latching onto the ball around 23 yards from goal and smashing the ball well wide. Before that the Tigers were knocking the ball around as they probed away, and there was some nice forward movement from their players. Still no way through with 18 minutes gone on Humberside.

Agbonlahor does well to direct his header from range goalwards, but there was no chance he was beating McGregor from there. Incidentally, it has been over seven hours now since Villa last scored an away goal, and the man who bagged it is sitting on the bench this evening.

A huge moment in the fight to avoid relegation as Jelavic gives Hull the lead thanks to a big slice of luck. The goal came about via a long punt down the field from McGregor, although nothing should be taken away from the link-up play between the Jelavic and his new strike partner N'Doye, who picked out the Croatian with a decent through ball and left him to do the rest. The shot from inside the area was on target, but Guzan looked to have it covered if not for a huge deflection off Clark's boot which lifted it over him into the net.

N'Doye is enjoying a fine first start for the Tigers, and he could have been on the scoresheet himself but his diving header was wide of the target. Prior to that goal I was about to mention how Gil looks particularly lively for the visitors, yet none of his teammates are quite on the same wavelength.

Route-one football at its finest for the game's opening goal:

#HCAFC 1-0 #AVFC New boy N'Doye sets up Jelavic for the opener against Villa. Simple http://t.co/N2WRHV4Ttu pic.twitter.com/nQVFJsf8UQ — Stats Zone (@StatsZone) February 10, 2015

Plenty of battles going on at the moment, but not a great deal of football. That will suit Hull just fine as they sit on their lead, as long as things don't spill over too much. Benteke appears to be warming up for Villa, so perhaps an early change is on the cards for the visiting side?

I mentioned the poor goalscoring records of both sides before kickoff, secretly hoping it would signal a 10-goal thriller at the KC Stadium. That hasn't been the case, and while chances have been restricted to a bare minimum - just the one all game which Jelavic converted - it has been a decent enough contest thus far.

SHOT! Almost identical to the Weimann effort from a little earlier, Delph takes range from distance with a horribly sliced strike. Just the one shot on goal for the visitors so far - Agbonlahor's tame headed attempt which did little to trouble McGregor.

Hull have hardly been better than their opponents in that department, mind, with just two shots on target of their own. The difference of course being that they found the net thanks to a large slice of luck. Still all to play for, but Villa really need to up things in an attacking sense.

We've had another one of those quiet spells over the past few minutes, with next to nothing to report back on. It will be interesting to see what approach Hull take as this game progresses. We saw a near-perfect defensive display from them three days ago, although attacking appears to be their best bet on this occasion.

YELLOW CARD! Alan Hutton is shown the first caution of the evening for his late challenge on Meyler. N'Doye is also down receiving treatment following a separate challenge.

It would be nice to see Villa test McGregor in the final few minutes of this half, just to give their travelling supporters something to hold onto in terms of hope for the second 45 minutes. It has been incredibly stop-start since Hull's goal 20 minutes ago, with barely any action of note.

Two minutes of added time are to be played at the end of this first half which has failed to get going. Hull will obviously be the happier, but improvements are needed from both sides.

Referee Michael Oliver brings to a close a rather feisty and underwhelming opening 45 minutes. It started off well enough, both sides probing away in search of an opener, but ever since Hull made the breakthrough with 22 minutes played there has been absolutely nothing of note other than one wayward strike from Delph.

The goal itself came about following some nice interplay between Jelavic and the lively N'Doye, the latter playing in his teammate to convert via a huge deflection off the boot of Clark. We have seen just three shots on target so far from both sides combined, one being the goal while the other two efforts have barely merited mentioning due to their tameness.

UPDATES: Liverpool are Spurs are currently locked at 1-1 in the big game of the evening as far as the top end of the Premier League is concerned, but far more relevance to Hull and Villa are the other two games. QPR lead Sunderland 2-0 at the break and look on course to pick up their first points on the road this campaign, while Leicester trail Arsenal by the same scoreline in North London.

So what does that mean in the grand scheme of things? Well quite a lot, actually. As things stand Aston Villa occupy a place inside the Premier League relegation zone, sitting level on points with QPR who are now 17th and one point off Hull in 15th. West Brom sandwich the pair, playing what will be their game in hand in 24 hours' time. The live league table in full can be found right here.

BENCH WATCH!

HULL CITY SUBSTITUTES: Harper, Davies, Robertson, Quinn, Ramirez, Hernandez, Aluko

ASTON VILLA SUBSTITUTES: Given, Vlaar, Bacuna, Cleverley, Benteke, Sanchez, Cole

I'll be surprised if we see no changes from either manager at the break. Villa in particular need to change things up, and with a player boasting the quality of Benteke on the bench he is likely to be called upon for this second half. Hull may hold a slender lead but they have hardly looked too promising bar a couple of early moments, and they could also look to change things up. Kickoff is just a few moments away, so let's find out...

SECOND HALF UNDERWAY! We're back underway on Humberside, and as expected Christian Benteke has been called upon. Weimann is the man to make way as Villa look to change things up in order to find a way back into this game.

Villa win an early corner, but much like every set piece in the first half it was rather abysmal. Nobody seems to be able to beat the first man from a corner!

It is the visiting side who are looking to get forward as they search for a leveller, yet it is all very bland. Benteke has been restricted to a shot which was well off target, and that aside the lack of movement has seen Villa pass the ball around without making any real waves.

An early pattern has been set in this second half: Villa are constantly attacking without asking any questions of Hull. I think Steve Bruce will be happy enough to see another 40 minutes of this. The quality of delivery from Gil has been shockingly bad all night, as he once more fails to find a teammate.

Villa's supporters are urging their team on, but that barren run in front of goal away from home is now into its eighth hour. It's all very frustrating for them once more so far.

YELLOW CARD! Delph loses the ball in midfield which allows Jelavic to charge forward, but Agbonlahor is having none of it as he charges back to dispossess the Croatian. The problem is he took the man before the ball, leading to him entering the referee's book.

Lambert is about to roll the dice for a second time by bringing on Joe Cole. He can't come on soon enough, because things are simply not working at the moment as far as the visitors are concerned.

ASTON VILLA SUB: Sinclair's first start in a year comes to an end as Cole comes on in his place. That change follows Villa's best bit of play of the evening so far, which culminated in Cissokho firing away a shot which Bruce did brilliantly to block.

Nikica Jelavic's goal midway through the first half separates the two teams as we pass the hour mark at the KC Stadium:

© Getty Images

Ramirez is about to enter the fray for the hosts, with Jelavic likely to be the one to make way. Much like the first half, there has been little in the way of any real momentum following the restart from either side.

HULL CITY SUB: Ramirez replaces Jelavic in a like-for-like change, offering a fresh pair of legs up top for the Tigers. Fourteen minutes left to play in this huge battle at the bottom.

Don't expect this game to get any airtime when it comes to the end of season compilation videos, because bar the goal we have seen next to nothing in the way of goalmouth action. The onus really is on Villa to get stuck in, create chances and find a goal to level things up. They are the ones in the bottom three as things stand, but you wouldn't know that judging by this second-half showing.

CHANCE! Finally! Some nice work from Hull sees them open up space on the left which Brady makes the most of, cutting inside in the box and dragging a shot narrowly wide of goal.

N'Doye has surely wrapped up all three points for Hull and condemned Villa to yet another defeat. Hull have just cranked things up a notch over the past few minutes for the first time since going ahead, and they were rewarded by the January signing's close-range finish. The initial effort was well kept out by Guzan with the game's first real save, but N'Doye pounced to strike the ball into the roof of the net.

CHANCE! Villa's best opportunity of the game falls the way of Benteke, who was played in on goal by Agbonlahor's through-ball but unable to convert thanks to some brilliant defensive work from Dawson. The former Spurs man closed him down which forced Benteke to take range earlier than he maybe wanted to, unleashing straight into the hands of McGregor.

It's been scrappy, but Hull appear to have done exactly what was needed to get the points on the board. They are still in real danger, yet it is their opponents who are now camped inside the bottom three with games fast ticking down.

Villa have offered next to nothing all game, with that Benteke chance shortly after the goal their only real opening of the game. So disappointing for their supporters, and the pressure will no doubt turn up another notch or two on Lambert. This game is fast petering out.

Delph looks to pick out Benteke in a central position, but not for the first time this evening an over-hit cross awaits. Seven minutes for the Villans to find a route back into this one.

UPDATES: QPR still lead Sunderland 2-0 heading into the closing stages of that one, while Leicester trail Arsenal. It all means that Villa will end the evening in the relegation zone, while Hull will move up to the lofty heights of 15th place.

HULL SUB: The hero of the evening, Dame N'Doye, leaves the field to a standing ovation. Abel Hernandez is the man to replace him with just three minutes remaining on Humberside. Just before that change Dawson was issued with a yellow card.

Hull are now happy to knock the ball around and tick down the clock as we enter the closing stages of proceedings. It will take a miracle for Villa to salvage anything now.

Hull hit their opponents on the counter-attack and with Hernandez through on goal at a tight angle, he opts to shoot rather than picking out one of four teammates up alongside him. It will matter little in the grand scheme of things.

SAVE! Fantastic from Alan McGregor, who has been a spectator all evening. Westwood's shot from range was initially pushed away, but only as far as Benteke who looked certain to score from the follow-up. The Scotland international had other ideas, though, tipping over the second shot to keep his clean sheet intact.

HULL SUB: Stephen Quinn will get a few seconds here, coming on in place of Livermore. Time is officially up at the KC Stadium.

So there we have it, then, as Hull City prevail 2-0 at the KC Stadium to leave Aston Villa in the Premier League's bottom three this evening. It was hardly a classic, anything but in fact, yet in the end the Tigers did enough with goals in either half to claim three valuable points.

Well that's all from me for the time being, but be sure to stick around as we bring you a full match report, player rating and analysis from this evening's match on Humberside. Thanks for joining!