As temperatures drop and frost becomes more prevalent across the country, Nottingham Forest are looking to demist their view of promotion after freezing against Wigan Athletic over the weekend.
The East Midlands side are going through a slight foggy patch after winning just one of their last three but victory on Wednesday evening would see them propel themselves back into the promotion places with Leeds United slipping up the night previous.
However, such is the unforgivable nature of the Championship, defeat for Forest could see them slide out of the play-off places with Fulham, Bristol City and Charlton biting at the heels of Forest with fixtures of their own.
Meanwhile, Hull City are looking to switch the lights on for their season after losing two games on the bounce, conceding six in the process, and dropping within four points of the relegation zone.
Are Forest as good as the table suggests?
Whilst Forest are adept at creating goalscoring chances, and had only lost one Championship game before that defeat on Sunday, they are yet to truly set the second tier alight with five of their six victories coming by a single-goal margin.
Lewis Grabban has netted almost a third of their goals this season but even he missed a golden opportunity at Wigan, underpinning Forest’s lack of clinical prowess that is perhaps emphasised by the fact they manufactured 18 shots but had just two on target in that fixture.
No team has created less shots on target in the Championship this season.
Despite the experience of Ben Watson and creativity of Joe Lolley and Tiago Silva, Forest are not a team to keep the ball, averaging less possession than all but three teams in the second tier.
And that will need to change on Wednesday evening with Hull second to none for tackles per game and only bettered by Bristol City in terms of interceptions
Bowen proving a threat
Whilst Sabri Lamouchi has experience of playing at some of the best clubs on the continent, Hull manager Grant McCann knows what it takes to succeed at this level after an extensive playing career in the second and third tiers of English football.
His teams are notable for offensive football, currently ninth in the table for number of shots per game despite their lowly position.
Albeit the faces at his former clubs have changed over time, it is perhaps unsurprising that Peterborough United and Doncaster Rovers are first and fifth respectively for number of goals scored in League One. The former whom McCann was sacked from despite being on the brink of the play-offs.
Leading the line is Jarrod Bowen, who has five goals to his name, ably supported by Polish international Kamil Grosicki who enjoys an away fixture. The skilful attacking midfielder has four goals and two assists to his name on his last ten visits to opposing clubs.
Tough task if Forest score first
For Hull, the key will be plugging the holes in defence but Jordy de Wijs is still unavailable for the Tigers. Meanwhile, Forest could welcome back Michael Dawson, Ryan Yates and Alfa Semedo as they look to bolster their options.
When Forest score first they tend to win – since the opening game of the season, they have won all five games where they have taken the lead, keeping five clean sheets in the last seven league contests.
In contrast, Hull have dropped ten points from the seven games they have opened the scoring.
Yet, despite being separated by 12 places and nine points, this could be a tough contest to call, as history suggests. The last six fixtures have returned three wins apiece with an average of three goals per game.
Forest ran out 3-0 winners back in March after netting a trio of strikes in a rampant ten-minute spell.