Hull City host Wigan Athletic at the MKM Stadium in Championship action on Wednesday, with the home side hoping to put their five-game losing streak to an end.
Wigan come into the game with three wins in their last four and will have their eyes set on another victory to help them in their push for the playoffs.
Match preview
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Just hours before Friday's game against Luton Town, Hull City parted with manager Shota Arveladze and appointed Andy Dawson as interim boss, but the new man in charge was not able to halt the losing run The Tigers are on, falling to a 2-0 defeat.
It is not just the defeats that will be a concern for Dawson but the manner of them, his side having the unwanted record of the worst defence in the division, conceding 23 goals in total.
In recent times, The Tigers have also started struggling at the other end of the pitch, failing to score in their last four league outings and only registering one shot on target in their last two league games, with none against Luton.
However, one bright spark for Hull this season has been the performances of striker Oscar Estupinan, who despite struggling to score in recent weeks, remains the top scorer in the Championship and has seven goals to his name this season.
Now is the time to start turning their form around if Hull City want to avoid being dragged into a battle at the wrong end of the table this season as they are currently only one point above the relegation zone, with bottom side Coventry City also having three games in hand to their advantage.
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Newly-promoted Wigan head into Wednesday's game under very different circumstances to their opponents, currently in 10th place and just two points off the playoff places.
This comes after a good run of form for The Latics, winning three of their last four matches, all of which were away from home, leaving them with the best away record in the league with 13 of their 16 total points being picked up on the road.
Most recently, Leam Richardson's side were 2-0 victors in a trip to Rotherham United in a game where Will Keane continued his good start to the season, scoring the opening goal, before defender Tom Naylor struck late to secure all three points for the playoff-chasing side.
Other than in their outlying 5-1 loss to Burnley, The Latics defence can take a lot of the credit for the promising league position they find themselves in, having only conceded more than one goal in one league match this season, while also withstanding heavy Birmingham City pressure with 10 men to secure a 1-0 win at St Andrews in August.
Team News
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To make the task harder for Hull, they currently have some notable absentees on the treatment table, with forward Benjamin Tetteh out with a hamstring injury sustained against Sheffield United in September and not expected back for a couple of weeks, and new signing Allahyar Sayyadmanesh out until November with the same issue.
Summer signing Vaughn Covil is also missing after he had his season cut short by an anterior cruciate ligament injury picked up in The Tigers' last victory, a home game against Coventry, while Brandon Fleming is making steps towards recovery from a leg issue but will not be back in time to be selected.
Under the helm of their previous manager, The Tigers varied between a 3-4-1-2 and 4-2-3-1 system, with the interim boss opting for the latter in Saturday's defeat, and as such it will most likely be one of these two systems deployed on Wednesday night.
Wigan have also varied between formations this season, but have found recent success playing 4-2-3-1, with key man Keane in behind Charlie Wyke on Saturday and the two combining for the opening goal, so they are both likely to start again on Wednesday.
Captain Max Power has been key to Wigan's good start this season, only missing one game for his side so far, and he is set to operate in central midfield alongside Tom Naylor, while Thelo Aasgaard and Nathan Broadhead should keep their places on the wing.
In defence, Curtis Tilt and Jack Whatmough have shown signs of forming a solid partnership since Leam Richardson's switch to four at the back, keeping a clean sheet on Saturday, and so are expected to be the favoured defensive pair.
There are no fresh injury concerns for Wigan to concern themselves with, but Gwion Edwards and Jordan Cousins still have issues that will keep them out until later this month.
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Baxter; Elder, Greaves, Jones, Coyle; Slater, Woods, Tufan, Longman, Pelkas; Estupinan
Wigan Athletic possible starting lineup:
Amos; Nyambe, Whatmough, Tilt, McClean; Power, Naylor, Broadhead, Keane, Aasgaard; Wyke
We say: Hull City 0-2 Wigan Athletic
Hull have struggled in recent weeks, sitting just one point clear of the relegation zone and without a goal in their last four matches.
With Wigan having the best away record in the league, we expect them to continue their good run here and win in reasonably comfortable fashion.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Dominic Lund
