KC Stadium, Wednesday 1945 GMTHULL CITY:
Hull host Everton high on confidence in the wake of an unbeaten run of two games which, in the scheme of things this season, is quite an achievement for Phil Brown's side. Since the return as chairman of Adam Pearson, Hull have displayed an inner strength and desire to perform to the maximum, which has seen them take four points from a possible six and lift them out of the relegation zone.
Brown's men will be more determined than ever to make it three games unbeaten and capitalise on the fact this is their third match at home in succession, but offering them more incentive is the fact that Hull will be keen to gain revenge on David Moyes's side for the Carling Cup thrashing dished out at the KC Stadium earlier this season.
Brown said: "You can't make any relevance to these two games because the situation has changed, but what happened before will be in the backs of our minds. We've show great spirit and togetherness in the last two games and this has maybe surprised a few people.
"This is down to the quality and determination of the players, who deserve great credit. A return of seven points from the last three games would be fantastic, so it's up to us to go out there and deliver another performance worthy of this football club."
Strategy: Simple, give the ball to Jimmy Bullard. The midfielder has resembled an energizer bunny since coming back from nine months out with a career-threatening knee injury and is certainly making up for lost time. It is no coincidence that Hull's upturn in fortunes has coincided with Bullard returning to the fold to justify why Brown decided to make him the club's record signing in the first place. Everything that is positive and creative about Hull comes through Bullard, but Brown needs to find a holding midfield player in the absence of the injured Seyi Olofinjana to protect his vulnerable defence and allow Bullard to push forward at every opportunity.
Brown will also hope the work rate of Stephen Hunt on the flank and Jozy Altidore in attack continues because Hull look a different proposition when these two are firing alongside Bullard. The only quandary facing Brown is how to accommodate Brazilian playmaker Geovanni in the same team as Bullard.
Injury Update: Ian Ashbee remains sidelined following knee surgery, while Olofinjana has failed to recover from a hamstring strain and will also be missing, which is a big blow to Hull. Boaz Myhill is fit again but is facing a losing battle when it comes to dislodging Matt Duke in the Hull goal. Bernard Mendy received a straight red card against West Ham United on Saturday and will therefore also miss this tie due to suspension.
EVERTON:
Everton will visit the KC Stadium with Saturday's comprehensive defeat to Manchester United still fresh in the mind. The Toffees were out-thought and outplayed by Sir Alex Ferguson's side at the weekend in a result that has seen Everton slump to 14th in the Premier League.
A decade ago, 14th was a positively excellent position for the Merseyside club as they lurched from crisis to crisis but the bottom half of the table is relatively unknown territory to manager David Moyes who has stabilised his club superbly during his seven years in charge and has taken Everton to consecutive fifth place finishes recently.
However, he is not panicking ahead of Wednesday night's encounter with Hull and refused to label the match as a "must-win" - arguing that all Everton's matches are must win and as a result, the KC Stadium visit will be no different. He said: "I view all games as must win games. I would like to think that is the attitude me and my players always show because if you win every game you end up at the top.
"If you go out thinking it is a not a must-win game then you would lose more. We know our position and we know that we have to play better so we are overdue a win and we need to get it."
And although Everton are currently well off the pace when it comes to challenging for a Europa League position, Moyes believes that will change over the next few months "We are not playing well enough to be considered as one of those players challenging," he added.
"But will that come? Yes I think it will. We just need a few players back and a few more challenging and hopefully we can get some confidence back and show what we have done in the last few seasons."
Strategy: Get used to scoring goals away from home. Everton have only scored six away goals all season - averaging one a match - and that is simply not good enough if they want to be considered as one of the Premier League's better sides. Equally, the club needs to taken the striking burden off Louis Saha's shoulders. The Frenchman leads the way with seven finishes this term but then Everton have seven players who are all joint-second highest scorer with just two goals. While it is admirable that Everton are spreading the goals around, a second more frequent goalscorer needs to step up to help Saha out.
Injury Update: Everton's farcical injury problems continue after Moyes revealed on Tuesday that Phil Neville has had a setback in his recovery from a knee problem and will now require surgery. Phil Jagielka, Victor Anichebe, James Vaughan and Mikel Arteta are also still absent with knee problems - and have all had their own individual problems delaying their returns. Marouane Fellani and Diniyar Bilayaletdinov with also both miss the tie due to suspension.
