Match Preview
Hull City vrs Fulham
Championship Match Day 27 1920 at KCOM Stadium
Saturday 11th January 2020 KO: 15:00pm
Referee:
Matt Donohue (Manchester)
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Matt Law at Sports Mole
One of the most interesting encounters in this weekend's Championship calendar will take place at the KCOM Stadium on Saturday afternoon as Hull City welcome Fulham.
Scott Parker's side are very much in the playoff argument at the moment having picked up 42 points from their 26 Championship matches this season to occupy fifth spot in the table.
The capital club are 10 points off second-placed West Bromwich Albion, though, suggesting that they will be unable to challenge for an automatic return to England's top flight.
There is actually only three points between Fulham and 10th-placed Preston North End, meaning that a couple of poor results could quickly see the Cottagers slip down the division.
Parker's side will enter this match off the back of a 2-1 win over Aston Villa in the FA Cup, but they lost their last Championship match at home to Reading on New Year's Day.
No player has scored more Championship goals than Aleksandar Mitrovic this season, though, and the centre-forward will be looking to add to his total of 18 at the KCOM Stadium this weekend.
Hull sit just two points outside of the playoffs ahead of the encounter with the Cottagers, who occupy fifth position with 42 points to show from their 26 league matches during the 2019-20 campaign.
Relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2016-17 campaign, Hull have finished 18th and 13th in their last two Championship seasons. The Tigers are going well in the second tier this term, though, and as mentioned above, currently sit just two points outside of the top six in the Championship table.
A record of 11 wins, six draws and nine defeats from 26 matches has seen them collect 39 points, while they will enter this weekend's match off the back of three straight wins in all competitions.
Indeed, in addition to overcoming Queens Park Rangers and Sheffield Wednesday in their last two Championship encounters, Hull beat Rotherham United in the third round of the FA Cup last weekend.
Grant McCann's side have actually only lost one of their last five in the Championship and in Jarrod Bowen, boast one of the best players outside of the Premier League. Indeed, the 23-year-old, who has previously been linked with Tottenham Hotspur, has scored 17 times in 28 appearances at club level this term.
The Tigers have only won one of their last four games against Fulham in all competitions, though, and the points were shared in a 2-2 draw when they last locked horns at the KCOM Stadium in December 2017.
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Hull are unbeaten in five home league games against Fulham (W4 D1) since losing 3-0 back in October 1996 in a fourth-tier match.
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Fulham have managed just one win in their last eight league games against Hull (D2 L5), winning 2-1 in September 2017.
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Fulham are without a win in three away league games (D1 L2), since a 2-1 win at Swansea in November. Fulham last conceded more than three goals in consecutive away Championship games in December 2017.
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Fulham's Bobby De Cordova-Reid has scored three goals in his last three league appearances, one more than he bagged in his previous 27 (two).
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The last time Fulham won away in the league was 4 games ago against Swansea.
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Of the 11 away games Fulham has lost, they conceded first 9 times.
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The last time Fulham kept a clean sheet away in the league was in a 1-0 win against Birmingham in November 2019.
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Hull have won three of their last four matches in the Championship (L1), last winning three in a row at the start of November last year.
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Hull's Jarrod Bowen has been directly involved in more Championship goals this season than any other player (16 goals, six assists). Indeed, Bowen has scored or assisted 16 goals in his last 15 league appearances (12 goals, four assists).
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Of the 10 league games Hull has won at home, they scored first 7 times.