Preview: Hull City vs. Fulham - prediction, team news, lineups

Fulham square off against Hull City on Saturday afternoon looking to strengthen their position at the top of the Championship standings.

While the Cottagers have won five of their last six fixtures, Hull have suffered two successive defeats, keeping them in relatively close proximity to the relegation zone.

Match preview

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When Marco Silva named a full-strength side for the meeting with Manchester City in the FA Cup, there were question marks over whether his players would be suitably refreshed for the league fixture with Millwall three days later.

The Cottagers proved that those concerns were unwarranted as they earned a 3-0 victory over their London neighbours, extending their unbeaten streak in the Championship to six games.

With five of those matches ending in a Fulham win, Silva's team now sit eight points clear of third position with games in hand, and the Portuguese will feel that his team are edging towards a return to the Premier League.

Aleksandar Mitrovic continued his remarkable campaign earlier this week, the Serbian's double taking him to 30 goals in the Championship this season.

Many team and individual records could go come the end of the campaign, but Silva's sole focus will be on collecting another three points on their travels.

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While Hull were superb during Shota Arveladze's first game in charge against Swansea, the Tigers have failed to replicate that level in the following double-header.

Defeats to Preston North End and Derby County have prevented Hull from making quick headway up the standings, instead leaving them with the aim of achieving mid-table respectability.

The Georgian will acknowledge that it will take time for his players to adapt to a new playing style, but they were woefully off the pace as Derby ran riot at Pride Park.

On many levels, this game is the one fixture that Hull would not have wanted right now, although Arveladze and his squad may use it as an opportunity to play without freedom now that expectation levels have lowered considerably over the past week.

Team News

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Arveladze will inevitably make changes to his Hull XI with Allahyar Sayyadmanesh in contention for his first start.

Tom Huddlestone and Richard Smallwood could both return in midfield, while Di'Shon Bernard may be restored to the back three.

Depending on Arveladze's tactics for this contest, Keane Lewis-Potter may be deployed in one of the wing-back positions.

Harrison Reed may be restored to the centre of Fulham's midfield, taking the spot of Nathaniel Chalobah who has started the last two fixtures.

Barring any unforeseen injury issues, that may be the only alteration that Silva makes for the game on Humberside.

Hull City possible starting lineup:

Ingram; Bernard, McLoughlin, Greaves; Coyle, Smallwood, Docherty, Lewis-Potter; Honeyman; Forss, Sayyadmanesh

Fulham possible starting lineup:

Rodak; Williams, Adarabioyo, Ream, Robinson; Chalobah, Cairney; Wilson, Carvalho, Kebano; Mitrovic

We say: Hull City 0-2 Fulham

On the back of two poor performances, Hull can surely only improve. Nevertheless, this is the least favourable fixture that they could have hoped for, and we are backing the Cottagers to cruise to all three points at the weekend.