Hull City travel to Watford in the Championship on Tuesday evening, in the latest match in their battle to avoid relegation to League One.
The visitors are currently 19th in the table, and they are just three points clear of the drop zone with six games remaining.
Match preview
Hull secured a precious three points at the weekend, as they beat Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 at Hillsborough.
The Tigers stole the win late on, as Charlie Hughes scored the only goal of the game in the dying moments to help improve their chances of survival in the Championship.
The visitors have hit a good run of form at the right time of the season, as they have lost only once in their last six games, which is a significant reason why they are currently sitting outside the relegation zone.
However, one of the biggest issues for Hull this season has been scoring goals, and the Tigers have netted just 40 goals, which gives them an average of exactly one goal per game.
Indeed, the Yorkshire side have only scored more than one goal in seven of their 40 league games so far this season.
Hull have won five of their last 10 away matches in the league, and they have preferred playing on the road this season, as they have claimed 25 of their 44 points on their travels, and the club also own the worst home record in the division.
Despite performing well on their travels this year, they come up against a Watford side that has played significantly better on home soil than away from home, with 11 wins at Vicarage Road compared to just four away victories.
Their latest defeat on the road came at the weekend against Bristol City, as Ross McCrorie and Nahki Wells put the Robins into a commanding lead, before Mamadou Doumbia scored a consolation goal late on for the Hornets.
The loss at Ashton Gate left Watford seven points behind Bristol City in the standings, and therefore also seven points away from the playoff zone.
With just six matches remaining, the Hornets will have to be near perfect to stand any chance of making the playoffs this season.
The hosts have tricky fixtures against promotion contenders West Bromwich Albion and Burnley in the coming weeks, and half of their remaining games are away, so their poor away record will have to change for them to stand any chance of going up.
Defeat at the weekend meant that Tom Cleverley‘s side have won just once in their last six matches, and the Hornets have only netted three times during this poor run.
The last two meetings between the Hornets and the Tigers have ended in a draw, with the two sides last playing each other back in December, in Hull’s first match under head coach Ruben Selles.
Chris Bedia put Hull ahead with less than 10 minutes remaining, but Rocco Vata crushed any hope of a debut win for Selles with a late equaliser to claim a point.
Team News
Watford are likely to be missing Kwadwo Baah for this clash, after he went off injured in the defeat to Bristol City at the weekend.
Doumbia made a goalscoring return from the bench for the Hornets at the weekend following his recent injury, and he will be in contention to feature again on Tuesday evening.
Elsewhere, Kevin Keben and Amin Nabizada are doubts for the hosts, while Angelo Ogbonna remains out with a long-term injury.
Meanwhile, the visitors have several absentees for this clash, as Oscar Zambrano continues to serve a lengthy suspension.
The Tigers have a quartet of injured players, as Louie Barry, Liam Millar, Mohamed Belloumi and Eliot Matazo are all ruled out for Hull.
Watford possible starting lineup:
Selvik; Wiley, Abankwah, Pollock, Ngakia; Kayembe, Louza, Sissoko; Vata, Bayo, Ince
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Pandur; McLoughlin, Hughes, Egan, Coyle; Puerta, Slater, Joseph, Alzate, Kamara; Pedro
We say: Watford 0-0 Hull City
Watford have been struggling in front of goal in recent weeks, and Hull often feature in close matches.
With the Hornets having trouble finding the net, we think this game may finish goalless – a result that would give Hull an important point in their bid for survival.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
