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

While Norwich find themselves down in 13th spot with David Wagner under pressure to keep his job, victory on Humberside will move them to within a point of their seventh-placed opponents.

Match preview

As long as Hull are sitting in seventh position in the Championship table, it will be perceived that Liam Rosenior is performing beyond realistic expectations.

However, for the first time this season, the Tigers have produced a run of shaky form, only winning one of their last five matches in all competitions.

That was a 3-2 victory over Blackburn Rovers where they gave up a two-goal lead, and a defeat subsequently followed at Sheffield Wednesday to make it three defeats in four second-tier fixtures.

Success over a struggling Birmingham City in the FA Cup third round on Saturday would have been expected, yet it took an 87th-minute equaliser for Hull to secure a replay.

In the grand scheme of things, that leveller felt like an important moment in Hull's season, and the onus is now on taking advantage of three of their next four league matches taking place on familiar territory.

From Norwich's perspective, they make the trip to Humberside as another team who have performing poorly of late, putting Wagner in a position where he is fighting to remain in the dugout.

Given the speculation regarding his future, Wagner was seemingly fortunate to remain in charge against Southampton on New Year's Day, the Canaries ending a two-game losing run in earning a share of the spoils.

Nevertheless, the 1-1 draw that subsequently followed against Bristol Rovers in the FA Cup has led to further calls that Wagner should be sacked, the perception now being that it might be last chance saloon.

Sitting just three points above 17th place, Wagner could have no complaints, yet triumphing on Friday night would catapult Norwich straight back into the promotion picture.

Hull City Championship form:

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W

L

L

W

L

Hull City form (all competitions):

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L

L

W

L

D

Norwich City Championship form:

W

D

W

L

L

D

Norwich City form (all competitions):

D

W

L

L

D

D

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Team News

Rosenior may take the opportunity to hand a full debut to Billy Sharp after he made his first Hull appearance from the substitutes' bench in the FA Cup.

Tyler Morton and Ozan Tufan should also return to the fold after being partially rested last time out, but Jadon Philogene and Liam Delap are both sidelined through injury.

Jean Michael Seri and Adama Traore are also absent due to representing their nations at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Although Wagner used a back five in the last Championship game against Southampton, the Norwich boss will likely revert to a four here.

Josh Sargent should come back into the attack with Hwang Ui-jo having been recalled by Nottingham Forest.

In an attacking move, the United States international may feature on the right, with Adam Idah playing down the centre, while Sam McCallum may return at left-back.

Hull City possible starting lineup:

Ingram; Coyle, McLoughlin, Jones, Greaves; Morton, Slater; Connolly, Tufan, Twine; Sharp

Norwich City possible starting lineup:

Gunn; Stacey, Duffy, McLean, McCallum; Nunez, Sara; Sargent, Barnes, Rowe; Idah

We say: Hull City 2-1 Norwich City

Norwich's inconsistency is a concern for Wagner, yet still makes them a threat against a Hull side that has lost its way. Nevertheless, we feel that the Tigers will do enough to earn this contest, potentially with a late goal at the MKM Stadium.

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