Following their promotion back to the Championship last season, Hull City have continuously done enough to avoid being in the bottom three, most notably picking up four straight wins in November under Grant McCann, before he left the club in line with a takeover in January.
New manager Shota Arveladze started in impressive fashion in Yorkshire, overseeing the club’s third straight victory as they defeated Swansea City 2-0, but the Tigers have since failed to add another three-point haul.
Hull went on to lose three consecutive matches before earning an impressive point as they held an in-form Sheffield United to a goalless stalemate away from home.
Saturday produced another commendable draw away from home for Arveladze’s men, as their meeting with fourth-placed Queens Park Rangers ended a goal apiece thanks to Marcus Forss’s first-half opener.
While a winless run has seen the Tigers drop back into the bottom five, they will be pleased with the last two outings, and, with a 13-point lead over the relegation zone, they should turn their focus back up the table with the chance to climb to 18th if they can secure a victory.
Barnsley arrive looking to keep any slim chances of survival alive with what would be just a fourth league win of the term.
After reaching the playoffs last season, Barnsley have had a far tougher campaign this time around, quickly sinking to the foot of the division before Markus Schopp was replaced by Poya Asbaghi in the hot seat.
That change has not had the desired impact at Oakwell, with the Tykes still stuck in 24th place following a dismal 13-game winless Championship run including 10 losses.
Links >> Stream 1 HD Stream 2 HD Stream 3 HD
The Yorkshire outfit were finally able to stop the rot recently, though, as Domingos Quina fired them to a 1-0 home win over Queens Park Rangers, before they looked set to take another positive step with a goalless draw against Coventry City.
Those hopes were dashed though, as the Sky Blues snatched all three points through a 93rd-minute Dominic Hyam goal, leaving Barnsley four points behind 23rd-placed Peterborough United and nine points adrift of safety.
With just 15 games left to play, Asbaghi’s men will know that they require a drastic turn in form if they are to stand a chance of survival this term, starting with a return to winning ways on Tuesday
