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

At a time when the Foxes remain three points clear at the top of the Championship table, Hull are sixth despite posting three draws in a row.

Match preview

With almost half of their seven league defeats coming in succession, Enzo Maresca faced a battle to rouse his Leicester squad for the trip to Sunderland earlier this week.

They responded by recording arguably their most important victory of the season, an early Jamie Vardy goal proving to be the difference at the Stadium of Light.

The Foxes have gone from seemingly making the title race a foregone conclusion to becoming satisfied with automatic promotion at a time when reports are suggesting that a return to the Premier League could come with issues off the pitch.

Nevertheless, that will not concern Maresca and his side right now. Leicester hold a five-point advantage over third-placed Leeds United with 10 matches of their league season left.

Despite their recent mixed performances, Leicester have still scored in 20 successive contests in the Championship, a statistic that will not be lost on Hull.

Earlier in the campaign, the Tigers upset the odds to prevail 1-0 at the King Power Stadium, stamping their mark during the early stages of the promotion race.

Liam Rosenior's side have not always looked like they could stay the pace, yet they have reached this stage in sixth position and on a six-game unbeaten run.

On a negative note, though, their last three fixtures have ended in draws against West Bromwich Albion, Preston North End and Birmingham City.

Hull have also won just seven of their 18 matches at the MKM Stadium, in comparison to Leicester who have prevailed in 13 of their away fixtures.

Hull City Championship form:

W

W

W

D

D

D

Leicester City Championship form:

W

W

L

L

L

W

Leicester City form (all competitions):

W

L

L

W

L

W

Team News

Rosenior must decide whether to keep with Ozan Tufan and Fabio Carvalho as an unfamiliar front two or finally decide to unleash Noah Ohio in attack.

Anass Zaroury may also get the nod on one of the flanks, but Aaron Connolly and Liam Delap remain on the sidelines for the Tigers.

Meanwhile, Jannik Vestergaard is available again after serving a suspension, yet Leicester's clean sheet at Sunderland may lead to him only featuring on the substitutes' bench.

Conor Coady has kept clean sheets on his last three starts for Leicester and could keep his place, while Kelechi Iheanacho or Patson Daka may replace Vardy.

Ricardo Pereira, Dennis Praet and Kasey McAteer will all stay as absentees for this game.

Hull City possible starting lineup:

Allsop; Coyle, Jones, Greaves, Giles; Omur, Morton, Seri, Philogene; Tufan, Carvalho

Leicester City possible starting lineup:

Hermansen; Choudhury, Faes, Coady, Doyle; Winks, Dewsbury-Hall; Fatawu, Akgun, Mavididi; Daka

We say: Hull City 0-2 Leicester City

This feels like a pivotal match for both sides, particularly in the case of Hull who are aware that they are on the brink of being overtaken in the playoff race. With Leicester having negotiated their match at Sunderland in midweek, the pressure is off to a certain extent, and that could lead to an efficient victory being recorded on Humberside.

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