Having flirted with the top six for much of this season, Hull City went into the international break with just goal difference keeping them out of the playoff places. A trip to Swansea City this weekend presents an opportunity for The Tigers to finally cement themselves as genuine promotion candidates.
Liam Rosenior's men saw off Huddersfield previously thanks to a last minute strike from Liam Delap, whilst a stoppage time goal from Jamal Lowe was too little too late as The Swans fell to a defeat at the hands of Ipswich.
Whilst seventeenth is a departure from many fan's expectations going into this season, high-scoring victories over Millwall and Sheffield Wednesday have shown that Michael Duff's side can put their opponents to the sword on their day.
Saturday's visitors have struggled during previous visits to South Wales with Hull last taking home maximum points back in 2016. The Swan's faithful will be hoping for a repeat of last season's fixture with the Swansea.com Stadium playing host to a comprehensive 3-0 win for the home side.
The last twelve months have seen substantial changes take place at Hull City, with just four players who featured on that day lining up against Huddersfield. Now on the cusp of the playoffs, The Tigers will have their eyes on all three points however, their opponents have shown that they have the potential to cause an upset.
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Team News
Swansea City
With a number of first-team players departing for international duty, Michael Duff was happy to report no fresh injury concerns from those representing their respective countries.
Despite the lack of new issues, the Swansea boss conceded that their long list of existing injuries remained going into this game. Speaking prior to the match, Duff divulged on his side's injury woes telling reporters:
“We have had a lot of players out and a lot of players away. In terms of injuries, we are still depleted but people are getting fitter."
Among the injured are key players Mykola Kuharevich, Azeem Abdulai and Joe Allen who are all on the road to recovery but still a long way off. Josh Key is close to a return after suffering a knock during last month's defeat to Leicester however, he won't be available for this weekend.
Liam Cullen will also be out of action on Saturday with the 24-year-old suspended after picking up a straight red card in the defeat to Ipswich before the international break.
Hull City
Liam Rosenior sat before the press prior to this weekend and delivered a clean bill of health for his squad going into the trip to South Wales.
A number of small knocks had left Liam Rosenior with limited choice for the Huddersfield tie however, thanks in part to the two week break, the Hull boss will now have an expanded arsenal at his disposal.
Aaron Connolly, Jason Lokilo and Adama Traore are all set to return to action with only the latter a potential doubt for Saturday. Dogukan Sinik suffered a knee ligament injury earlier this month that will continue to keep him sidelined for the foreseeable future.
The big news delivered by Rosenior was the imminent return of Regan Slater. The midfielder has been away from the starting eleven since early October and whilst Tyler Morton has stepped up in his place, Slater's return next week will be a much-welcomed one.
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Predicted Lineups
Swansea City
Rushworth; Tymon, Humphreys, Darling, Ashby; Grimes, Fulton, Lowe, Cooper; Paterson, Yates.
Hull City
Allsop; Greaves, McLoughlin, Jones, Coyle; Seri, Morton, Philogene, Twine; Tufan, Delap.
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Key Players
If Hull's three losses this season are anything to go by, the recipe for defeating Liam Rosenior's men lies in beating them at their own game. Keeping possession will be vital for Swansea and Matt Grimes will be the focal point of this plan.
Yet to miss a minute for his side this season, Grimes ranks second amongst midfielders for both passes completed and total touches with just Leicester's Harry Winks bettering his tally in either regard.
With four goals and assists to his name already this campaign, the 28-year-old is not shy of contributing on the attacking front and will be essential to cracking open a Hull defence that has kept a clean sheet in three of their last four games.
Saturday's game will likely be won in the middle of the park and if Matt Grime's start to the season continues on Saturday, he will be the lynchpin for Swansea's success against Hull.
Jacob Greaves
Sitting on the brink on the playoffs, there are few points of discontent amongst the Hull faithful however, one area where improvement is needed is the lack of goals from set pieces.
At just shy of two meters tall, Jacob Greaves should be a constant threat from balls into the box but with the defender yet to find the back of the net, it is clear that there is more to be desired in this area.
Hull have scored just twice from set plays this year, an underperformance compared to the 3.74 expected goals according to Opta.
On the other hand Swansea's expected goals against from set plays stands at 5.84 however, stellar performances between the sticks from Carl Rushworth has meant The Swans have conceded just three times from set pieces.
Combining Hull's underperformance in attacking set plays and Swansea's over-performance in defending them, it feels inevitable that both sides will see their luck change in this regard. With Greaves no doubt eager to match his tally of four goals last campaign, Saturday presents a good opportunity for him to open his account for the season.
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Match Details
Where is the game being played?
Swansea City are the hosts for this fixture with the match taking place at the Swansea.com Stadium.
What time is kick-off?
This game is scheduled to get underway at 15:00 BST on Saturday, November 25.
How can I watch?
Taking place during the blackout, viewers in the UK cannot watch this game live.