Hull City go into their Championship encounter with Middlesbrough on the back of four successive victories, which is form that has taken the club to the top of the standings.
Middlesbrough make the relatively short trip to the KC Stadium on the back of three wins in a row, and they will move past the Tigers should they emerge victorious on Saturday afternoon.
Hull City
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It had been speculated in the summer that Hull City manager Steve Bruce may not lead the club's first season back in the Championship, but 15 matches into the season, it is clear that the Tigers made the correct choice in not dispensing with their boss.
After an indifferent start, Hull have put together nine games without defeat, but it is the manner of their last four victories that will have sent warning signs to the rest of the division, with their spell without conceding a goal now being stretched to 422 minutes.
What is arguably more impressive is their record of three goals being given away in nine matches, but what will be appreciated more by the KC Stadium supporters is their side finally hitting the goal trail on a consistent basis.
Just 13 goals were netted in their first 11 fixtures, but nine have been scored in their last four, including three in their emphatic victory over Ipswich Town on October 20, the only time that they have scored more than twice in a game in 19 attempts in all competitions this season.
Bruce is likely to be more concerned with results in an unforgiving league, but since conceding in added-on time against Blackburn Rovers at the end of September, his team have been almost faultless, and they share the tag of in-form team in the division alongside Burnley and Derby County.
Recent form: WDWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): DWWDWW
Middlesbrough
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Two weeks ago, it had appeared that Middlesbrough had lost all of their early-season momentum after falling short in three successive games, but since October 24, they have showed that it will take more than a minor blip to derail their promotion ambitions this campaign.
The late victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux was the first of four wins in the space of 10 games, with the highlight being their penalty-shootout success against Manchester United in the League Cup, but it is maximum points in the Championship that would have most satisfied Aitor Karanka.
Home wins against both Charlton Athletic and Rotherham United were expected but it has set them up for a potentially tricky run between now and the end of 2015, with six of their nine fixtures coming against teams currently occupying places in the top 10 of the standings.
One issue for Karanka is a lack of a consistent goalscorer. Since the injury to Cristhian Stuani, only Stewart Downing has scored more than once, with David Nugent having only found the net once in six games and fellow frontman Kike not scoring since August 18, a run which stands at 11 outings.
Like Bruce, Karanka is unlikely to be too worried providing that his team can continue to pick up results, but it is an area of the pitch that is threatening to take away from their outstanding effort at the back, especially on their travels.
A tally of 11 points from seven away games is respectable, but they have only scored nine goals and conceded seven, which is significantly worse than their return at the Riverside Stadium.
Recent form: LDLWWW
Recent form (all competitions): DLWDWW
Team News
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Defender Alex Bruce will be missing from the Hull squad after he picked up a hamstring problem against Brentford in midweek.
Both Curtis Davies and Sone Aluko are nearing a return but they will not be ready until after the international break.
Karanka revealed in his pre-match press conference that he will not risk striker Stuani, who has not featured since early October.
Either Diego Fabbrini or Bruno Zuculini could be involved if Karanka opts to freshen up his side, who should have seen off Rotherham by a greater margin on Tuesday night.
Hull City possible starting lineup:
McGregor, Odubajo, Dawson, Maguire, Robertson, Elmohamady, Livermore, Meyler, Clucas, Akpom, Hernandez
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Konstantopoulos, Nsue, Kalas, Amorebieta, Friend, Clayton, Leadbitter, Adomah, Downing, Fabbrini, Nugent
Head To Head
Saturday's game will represent the 58th time that the two clubs have met, with Middlesbrough winning on 24 occasions compared to 16 victories for Hull.
However, three of the last four meetings have been won by Hull, who have won the last two matches at the KC Stadium.
The last clash occurred at the Riverside Stadium in the FA Cup in January 2014, with Aaron McLean and Nick Proschwitz giving the Tigers a 2-0 victory.
We say: Hull City 1-1 Middlesbrough
This match has a draw written all over it. Middlesbrough are lacking options in attack but their defence gives them every chance of getting a result on Humberside.
Darren Plant
