Hull vs Ipswich Prediction: Hosts may crumble under pressure

Arguably the pick of the weekend's Championship action comes at the MKM Stadium on Saturday night (KO, 20:00), as play-off chasing Hull City host automatic promotion contenders Ipswich Town.

The game will be shown live in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event, and you can build up to the action by checking out my Hull vs Ipswich prediction below, where all the latest team news is also listed.

At the time of writing, seventh-placed Hull are three points behind West Bromwich Albion (fifth) and Norwich City (sixth), with both sides holding a significant advantage on goal difference, too.

There are just two games remaining of the season, and the Tigers probably need to take a minimum of four points and hope other results go in their favour.

Confidence should be high after Wednesday's 3-2 win at Coventry City, where Jaden Philogene, Fabio Carvalho and Noah Ohio were scorers, and they won their last game at the MKM Stadium, beating Queens Park Rangers 3-0.

October's reverse fixture with Ipswich at Portman Road, though, saw them lose 3-0, and there are 20 points separating the sides for a reason.

Ipswich have been hugely impressive for the majority of the season, and only Leicester City (42) have collected more points away from home than them (38).

But it's been a bumpy few weeks for the Tractor Boys, who are winless in their last three games and down to third as a result, albeit they have played one fewer than second-placed Leeds United.

Team News

Burnley loanee Anass Zaraoury has been out injured for the past four matches and will miss out again for Hull on Saturday, but Liam Delap made his first start since New Year's Day in midweek and could line up from the start again.

Ipswich are still without the services of defensive duo Janoi Donacien and Brandon Williams, but attackers George Hirst and Wes Burns have recently returned to training following their respective hamstring injuries.

Ali Al-Hamadi got the nod up front in last week's 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see Kieffer Moore return to lead the line against Hull.

Match Odds

Hull are 11/5 to keep their play-off pursuit going with a victory on Saturday, giving them an implied win probability of 31.3%, while Ipswich are 23/20 - or a 46.5% chance - to return to winning ways this weekend. The draw, meanwhile, can be backed at 13/5.

Both teams to score is 4/7, and it's 18/1 for a repeat of the 3-0 scoreline in Ipswich's favour.

Ipswich to win and both teams to score @ 11/4

Hull are in great form, having won three and drawn two of their last five games, but it seems as if whenever the pressure is on them, they falter.

They are now back in a position where they can take the play-off race until the final game of the season, but I just wonder whether they are due another stumble, one which will be terminal to their top-six hopes.

Ipswich haven't won since the first day of April, taking just two points from their last three matches, but automatic promotion is still in their hands if they win on Saturday.

I'm not expecting it to be easy for the Tractor Boys as Hull are capable of scoring - they've scored at least once in five of their last six - but Kieran McKenna's side are masters of going at it until the end and finding a late winner.

They won't be perturbed if the Tigers take the lead, especially given both teams have scored in four of Hull's last six games, and they themselves have seen both teams score in 60% of their games this season.

Only Leicester (86) have scored more goals than Ipswich (85) in the Championship, and that firepower should lead them to victory at the MKM Stadium.

Fabio Carvalho to score anytime @ 13/5

Five Ipswich players lead the way in the anytime goalscorer market so, as I'm backing Hull to find the net, it makes sense to look to their players to find extra value.

Liverpool loanee Carvalho provides just that at 13/5, a strong price considering he has nine goals in 18 Championship appearances this season, and six in his last eight.

The 21-year-old scored a penalty in Wednesday's win at Coventry, which can only add to his chances of finding the net this weekend.

He's pretty handy at scoring from distance, too, so he is certainly a player to watch out for on Saturday, and if Hull are to breach the Town defence, I'd fancy it to be Carvalho's name on the scoresheet.

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