Marco Silva takes Fulham to his former club Hull City on Saturday for a fixture in the third round of the FA Cup.
Both teams enter this game in excellent form, the home side having recently moved away from the Championship relegation zone and the visitors challenging for a top-six spot in the Premier League.
Match preview
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Although Fulham began the season simply looking to avoid relegation, Silva and his squad are already at a stage where they can focus on far higher targets.
A three-match winning streak sees Fulham currently occupy seventh spot in the top flight, as many as 13 points clear of the bottom three.
While it can be argued that the Cottagers were presented with favourable fixtures upon the resumption of action, they have taken full advantage and were good value for each victory.
Last time out, Aleksandar Mitrovic netted the only goal of the game in a triumph at Leicester City, the Serbia international now having 11 goals in the Premier League during 2022-23.
Mitrovic will be missing from Fulham's next league outing due to suspension, something which will lead to Hull having to deal with his presence on Saturday.
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Despite overseeing Hull's relegation from the Premier League in 2016-17, Silva should get a favourable reception after winning eight of his 22 games in charge of the Tigers.
Nevertheless, the Hull supporters are currently invested in the work that current head coach Liam Rosenior is doing, their team on a five-game unbeaten streak since the return to action after the World Cup.
After three successive draws, the Tigers have defeated Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic on the road to now sit seven points clear of the relegation zone.
Although Hull are now closer to the playoffs than the relegation zone in terms of points, Rosenior will certainly not be getting carried away by the club posting back-to-back successes for the first time since the middle of October.
That is particularly the case due to their home form, with Hull only beating bottom-placed Wigan in front of their own supporters since the start of September.
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Team News
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Rosenior may take the opportunity to rest the likes of Jacob Greaves, Regan Slater and Alfie Jones, who have played far more Championship football than their teammates this campaign.
Tobias Figueiredo, Callum Elder and Ozan Tufan could come into the team, while Lewie Coyle may replace Cyrus Christie at right-back.
Tyler Smith netted twice as a substitute versus Wigan and could get the nod over Oscar Estupinan down the middle of the attack.
While Mitrovic will remain in the team, it is possible that Silva may rest the other 10 Fulham players which started the Leicester fixture on Tuesday.
More caution may be taken with Manor Solomon, who is only just returning after a knee injury, but Daniel James is in line to feature on the right flank.
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Ingram; Coyle, Figueiredo, McLoughlin, Elder; Docherty, Seri; Longman, Tufan, Sayyadmanesh; Smith
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Rodak; Mbabu, Duffy, Diop, Kurzawa; Onomah, Chalobah; James, Cairney, Wilson; Mitrovic
We say: Hull City 0-2 Fulham
While Silva will inevitably make alterations to his starting lineup, we cannot ignore the Mitrovic factor. With the Serbian in line to start, he will fancy his chances of netting at least a couple of goals, and that would likely prove decisive.
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