Hull City faces another opportunity to pull itself from the precipice as it hosts Liverpool at the KC Stadium live on NBCSN at 2:45pm ET or live online at NBC Sports Live Extra.
The Tigers take on a Liverpool squad looking at a slightly rejuvenated push towards a Champions League place, owning a seven-point deficit and a game in hand on fourth-placed Manchester United. Should they pick up a win today on the road, the Reds would be just four points back with four matches to play.
Hull, however, has a much more dire situation at hand. Just a point above the relegation zone, the Tigers are desperate to use this opportunity to put some distance between themselves and a galvanized relegation group that has scrapped for points and closed the gap. A win over the weekend was the first step, pulling themselves out of the relegation zone, but should they fail to pick up points today, the situation would become even more desperate as both Leicester and Sunderland would have one more game in hand.
WATCH LIVE: Hull City vs Liverpool live on NBC Sports Live Extra
The major lineup news comes from the visitors as Steven Gerrard has been dropped completely from the squad, replaced in the starting lineup by Joe Allen in the midfield. Those players are trending in opposite directions, as 25-year-old Allen has been a vital player in Liverpool’s midfield, while the aging Gerrard has at times looked off the pace.
Joining Gerrard on the sidelines is left-back Alberto Moreno, who remains out with an injury. Daniel Sturridge may not play the rest of the season, so Mario Balotelli is back again at the striker role. Mamadou Sakho and Lucas Levia remain injured as well.
For Hull City, they remain without Nikica Jelavic, Robert Snodgrass, and Curtis Davies all through long-term injuries. David Meyler is no longer suspended for his red card against Swansea, but remains out of the squad and therefore leaves it unchanged from the 2-0 weekend win over Crystal Palace.
LINEUPS:
Hull City: Harper, Dawson, Chester, McShane, Elmohamady, Brady, Huddlestone, Livermore, Quinn, Aluko, N’Doye
Bench: McGregor, Rosenior, Figueroa, Bruce, Ramírez, Hernández, Sagbo.
Liverpool: Mignolet, Can, Skrtel, Lovren, Johnson, Allen, Henderson, Ibe, Sterling, Coutinho, Balotelli.
Bench: Jones, Toure, Lambert, Manquillo, Lallana, Brannagan, Markovic.
