Stoke City play host to Hull City on Saturday afternoon knowing that they need wins on the board to move away from the Championship relegation zone.
At a time when the Potters occupy 19th spot in the standings, a resurgent Hull are now 12th, just four points adrift of the playoffs.
Match preview
© Reuters
Having recently progressed through to the FA Cup fifth round, there has been some much-needed optimism around Stoke, yet that does not make up for the club's torrid season in the Championship.
Alex Neil was appointed with the target of a playoff spot, one which should have been well within their grasp given the quality in the squad, but the Potters now sit 11 points adrift of the playoffs.
That is a consequence of four defeats coming in five games, the most recent occurring at Luton Town last weekend as they went down by a 1-0 scoreline.
Stoke now face a run of pivotal fixtures with showdowns with relegation rivals Huddersfield Town and Blackpool to follow the clash with Hull.
Although Stoke prevailed 4-0 over Reading in their last home league fixture, they have collected just 15 points from 14 contests at the bet365 Stadium.
© Reuters
From Hull's perspective, they travel to Staffordshire with the worry of relegation not at the front of their minds for the first time since the opening weeks of the season.
Liam Rosenior has helped instigate a run of 13 points being accumulated from their last six matches, catapulting the Tigers into the lofty heights of mid-table.
Back-to-back wins and clean sheets over Queens Park Rangers and Cardiff City have put Hull in a position where they are now 12 points above the bottom three, a scenario previously deemed unthinkable.
There is now potential for Hull to gatecrash the promotion race, helped by an away record where their only defeat in eight fixtures came at second-placed Sheffield United by a 1-0 scoreline on January 20.
Team News
© Reuters
With Stoke defender Josh Tymon sidelined with an ankle injury, Neil must find a solution at left wing-back, using either Morgan Fox, Dujon Sterling or Ki-Jana Hoever in that role.
Much may depend on whether Axel Tuanzebe is deemed fit enough to make his debut, but Sterling and Hoever may get the nod on the flanks.
Tyrese Campbell will hope to replace either Bersant Celina or Dwight Gayle in the final third.
Fewer changes are expected to be made to the Hull XI on the back of their hard-fought success over Cardiff.
Ryan Longman is an alternative to Aaron Connolly in the final third if Rosenior wishes to provide a different look to his attack, although it would not come as a surprise if the same side is named for this fixture.
Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Sarkic; Wilmot, Jagielka, Fox; Hoever, Baker, Laurent, Sterling; Brown, Campbell, Celina
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Ingram; Christie, Jones, McLoughlin, Elder; Tufan, Docherty, Seri, Slater; Connolly, Estupinan
We say: Stoke City 1-1 Hull City
With Hull now in a position where they can attack the playoffs, Rosenior will not be settling for a point on away territory. Nevertheless, Stoke may have to battle hard to earn a share of the spoils, something we feel that they can pull off in the Potteries.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Darren Plant
