Hull City host Crystal Palace in the first part of a relegation six-pointer this Saturday.
Hull sit 19th in the Premier League table on 11 points, whilst Palace are five places ahead in 14th, but on just 14 points - with both teams having had disappointing starts to the campaign.
Hull lack attacking threat
The Tigers have only won one of their last eight Premier League games. They've struggled to take points from those teams around them, which has ultimately left them in the position that they're in.
One of the biggest factors towards their terrible form is their lack of goalscoring threat. Their two top goalscorers are a midfielder and a defender - Robert Snodgrass (four) and Michael Dawson (two) - as their strikers all combine to a grand total of two goals (one each for Adama Diomande and Abel Hernandez).
Mike Phelan's side have only managed to score more than one goal in three fixtures this season, and all of those fixtures are unsurprisingly their only victories for the season so far. Phelan is aware of the issues at hand.
He told the media in his recent pre-match press conference that "opportunities came along" for the team and that they need to "improve and take them" when they are presented.
He also stated that a win on Saturday would help them develop as leaving the bottom three "gives you breathing space" from the pressure of being relegated.
Another victory for Palace?
After an awful run of six straight losses, the Eagles finally struck gold with an impressive 3-0 home victory against mid-table Southampton last weekend.
This victory saw them leap to 14th place in the Premier League table, however the threat of a relegation battle is still very much alive. 18th-placed Sunderland are only three points behind Palace. A rare away win would certainly give Alan Pardew's side breathing space heading into the busy Christmas period.
Pardew is more than aware of the significance that this fixture holds for the club's season. With two extremely tough fixtures against Manchester United and Chelsea looming in the aftermath of this weekend, Pardew stated in his press conference that this fixture "could define the first-half of our season."
He went on to say that "Hull are going to find it very difficult to beat us" if his team replicates the performance they displayed against Southampton. If Palace's attackers keep performing as they have been, Hull may well be in for a long afternoon.
Team News
Hull will be pleased with the return of midfielder Shaun Maloney. Nonetheless, they'll still be without six players through injury - Allan McGregor, Moses Odubajo, Dieumerci Mbokani, Will Keane, Abel Hernandez and Alex Bruce.
There is no new injury news for Crystal Palace, with Jonathan Benteke, Pape Souare, Steve Mandanda, Connor Wickham and Loic Remy all still out injured.
Recent Premier League Form
Hull City - LDLWLL
Crystal Palace - WLLLLL