Hull City and Norwich City came up short in their respective midweek Championship contests, and redemption will therefore be on the menu for both teams in Saturday's clash at the MKM Stadium.
The Tigers' bite was non-existent in a 2-0 loss to Burnley on Wednesday evening, one day after the Canaries' playoff hopes suffered another blow in a 1-0 reverse at home to Preston North End.
Match preview
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Unable to take a leaf out of Burnley's defensive playbook, Hull were powerless to prevent Scott Parker's side from strengthening their automatic promotion charge on February 12, succumbing to strikes from Bashir Humphreys and Zian Flemming in the first half at Turf Moor.
Given the Clarets' astounding defensive record - shipping a mere nine goals in the 2024-25 Championship so far - it came as little surprise to see Ruben Selles's attackers stunted for the remainder of the match, as their survival hopes took another damaging blow.
While head coach Selles could take some positives from the application of his players in the second half, he claimed overall responsibility for the painful result, one which leaves the Tigers below the dotted line in 22nd place in the Championship table.
However, only a marginally inferior goal difference is keeping the Tigers from Derby County in the safety of 21st spot, even if the 2014 FA Cup finalists have been found wanting in front of their own fans for some time now.
Indeed, Hull have been beaten in each of their last three fixtures at the MKM Stadium in all competitions, possess by far the worst home record in the 2024-25 Championship season with a paltry 12 points, and their run without a clean sheet on their own patch now stands at a disheartening 15 games.
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Consistency continues to elude playoff outsiders Norwich City, who have made a habit of stringing together a run of pleasing results followed by a sequence of disappointing ones, a bad omen after their first loss in four matches on Tuesday evening.
Fellow mid-table outfit Preston North End rocked up to Carrow Road and left with a 1-0 triumph to their name courtesy of Milutin Osmajic's fifth-minute strike, as Norwich put in another underwhelming attacking display in the wake of their 1-1 draw with Hull's relegation rivals Derby.
Now sitting four points outside the playoff positions in 11th spot, Norwich's total of 50 goals - 15 of which have been plundered by hotshot Borja Sainz - might be the best record outside of the top 10, but questions will rightly be asked of their recent attacking failures.
The Canaries have also failed to score more than once in a Championship away game since November, only mustering one goal or none at all in their last seven league matches on the road, although they could now win back-to-back second-tier games on their travels for the first time in over two years.
Furthermore, Norwich arrive in Hull with extremely fond memories of their 4-0 trouncing of the Tigers on home turf back in October, a result that made it four straight wins for the Canaries against Saturday's hosts in league action, having also prevailed 2-1 in this exact fixture in January 2024.
Team News
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Hull's predicament can be partially blamed on a debilitating injury list; Liam Millar and Mohamed Belloumi are on the long road back from cruciate ligament problems, while Kasey Palmer (ankle), Charlie Hughes (muscle), Harvey Cartwright (hand) and Finley Burns are also missing.
January arrival Lincoln also had to sit out the loss to Burnley on account of a knee concern, but the Fenerbahce loanee was back on the training fields this week and might be available for Saturday.
Attacking alterations should be expected after Wednesday's toothless display, potentially benefitting the likes of Louie Barry and Joao Pedro, while Abu Kamara might be at risk of dropping out against his old employers.
As for Norwich, the visitors' efforts against Preston were not helped by the late withdrawal of Kenny McLean from the starting lineup through illness, and the Canaries captain remains a serious doubt for Saturday.
Head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup has also confirmed that Emiliano Marcondes (hip) and Marcelino Nunez will sit this one out; the latter came off the bench in the Preston defeat but suffered a worrying ankle injury in a crunching challenge.
Forson Amankwah (leg), Gabriel Forsyth (knee) and Liam Gibbs (hamstring) will not play any part in this one either.
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Pandur; Coyle, Egan, Jones, McLoughlin; Matazo, Alzate, Slater; Kamara, Pedro, Barry
Norwich City possible starting lineup:
Gunn; Fisher, Duffy, Doyle, Mahovo; Slimane, Wright; Dobbin, Schwartau, Sainz; Sargent
We say: Hull City 0-1 Norwich City
Unlike October's statement win for Norwich, Saturday's battle does not have the look of an engrossing, goal-laden affair, and it may be just the one moment of magic that separates the two ex-Premier League sides.
With the likes of top scorer Sainz and Josh Sargent linking up in the final third, though, the Canaries have our vote to produce that one dash of inspiration needed to boost their playoff chances at the expense of the hosts' survival hopes.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
