Leeds United at Hull City: Time, TV, lineups, preview, a meaningful April match

Who says there's nothing left to play for this season? With the top six virtually locked, and the bottom three nearly assured as well, both teams still have something to play for Saturday at KC Stadium. Hull City, secure in the knowledge they have at least a playoff position as they sit in 4th, will want a win in this game to continue their momentum in the hunt for promotion. Leeds United, coming off a three-game winning streak and currently sitting in 11th, need to keep momentum of their own should they still hope to reach their less-ambitious target of the top ten.

Game with meaning

Tenth place may not seem ambitious at first glance, but scratch beneath the surface and you will understand that tenth would be a considerable achievement for a club whose preceding two seasons have seen them finish 15th twice. The Whites have not finished higher than 13th since the 2010/11 season, when they managed 7th under Simon Grayson. We have players at Leeds who will be out of contract at the season's end and loanees hoping to secure a permanent deal. Add to that the speculation surrounding Head Coach Steve Evans keeping his job, and this East v West Yorkshire derby definitely has meaning.

Rivals

Leeds haven't won four in a row since 2009 and away to former Premier League Hull, who consider Leeds their main rivals, may not seem the best opportunity to continue a run. Steve Bruce's connections to bitter rivals Manchester United mean Leeds fans would want a win irrespective of the current connotations.

Form

Leeds's last five league games break down as follows: 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 win. They have scored 8 goals and conceded 6.

Hull City have also won 3, 1 draw and 1 loss to their name in their last five. Scoring 10 goals, they have conceded 8.

Head-to-Head Results

From 22 games at Hull, Leeds have taken maximum points on 7 occasions, Hull have won 11, and the remaining 4 have been drawn.

Leeds player to watch

Toumani Diagouraga has now scored 3 league and cup goals in 13 appearances since moving to Leeds from Brentford in January. His latest effort helped Leeds to a deserved victory mid-week against Wolves. Considering he had only previously scored 6 goals in 5+ years and 190 appearances for Brentford shows how much  "Toums" is enjoying his time at Leeds. This defensive midfielder should be in the thick of the action again at the KC Stadium.

Hull player to watch

Leeds fan's eyes will be on their former favorite and ex-captain Robert Snodgrass who moved to City from Norwich for a fee of £6 million. He is only just coming back to form after a long injury lay off. Making just 22 appearances for the Tigers since joining in 2014, he has scored 2 goals, the latest of which was in Hull's recent win against Wolves.

WHAT

Hull City v Leeds United

Football League Championship

WHERE

KC Stadium, Hull

BBC Radio Leeds, LUTV

WHEN

Saturday, April 23, 2016

7:00a PT / 10:00a ET / 3:00p BT

WHO

Leeds United's probable lineup

Silvestri, Berardi, Bamba, Cooper, Taylor, Bridcutt, Diagouraga, Dallas, Cook, Antenucci, Wood

Subs: Peacock-Farrell, Coyle, Bellusci, Adeyemi, Murphy, Carayol, Botaka

Hull City's probable lineup

McGregor, Dubajo, Maguire, Davies, Robertson, Snodgrass, Meyler, Huddlestone, Maloney, Diomande, Hernández

Subs: Bruce, Clucas, Jakupovic, Akpom, Hayden, Aluko, Elmohamady

ODDS

Leeds 15/2

Draw 16/5

Wolves 2/5

PREDICTION

The Tigers won't roll over like the Wolves did, but I fancy our chances to get something. Draw. 1-1.

Thanks for reading, and let us know what you think; reach out on social media, and your comments below are always welcome.