Hull City v Sheffield Wednesday...one of five fixtures to look forward to this weekend

Action elsewhere sees key home assignments for Rotherham United, Doncaster Rovers and York City, with important trips to the north-west for Sheffield United, Bradford City and Barnsley also. And there’s a bit more besides.

Here are The Yorkshire Post’s five games to watch.

1. Hull City v Sheffield Wednesday.

Steve Bruce’s Tigers head into the game with spirits sky-high after the second string’s ultra-commendable cup draw at Arsenal and a 1-0 win over Ipswich which possessed the DNA of bonafide champions. Despite a short three-day turnaround following a long midweek trip to Suffolk, no-one of an amber-and-black persuasion will be complaining. The spirit at Hull’s training ground at Cottingham will be focused yet upbeat and it will be a great place to be for staff and players, for sure.

Bruce is as grounded and savvy as they come in terms of managerial operators. But he will know full well that another three points against the Owls at the end of what looked at the outset to be a difficult looking week on paper will represent a very big moment in Hull’s season. Even if he won’t say as much and will probably keep his feelings to himself.

For the Owls, after frustrating games against Preston and QPR, there’s a bit to ponder, with Carlos Carvalhal’s side no doubt concerning themselves with minding the gap with seventh-placed Birmingham just three points behind them with a game in hand.

Talisman striker Fernando Forestieri will be a welcome returnee for Carvalhal, who could do worse than invoke the spirit of St Andrew’s ahead of the game, reminding his side of how they handled adversity on their recent trip to the second city take three massive points.

The Portuguese seems to revel in playing the ‘outsiders’ card regarding his Owls side. Will it prove a trump one on Friday night?

2. Rotherham United v Brentford.

Three games in and a haul of one point from a possible nine under Neil Warnock’s watch is simply not good enough for teams spying a successful Great Escape mission. Warnock might envisage himself as a short-term ‘Red Adair’ fire-fighter putting out relegation fires, but as it stands he is facing a raging inferno.

The Millers next four games after their weekend game with Brentford? Sheffield Wednesday, Boro, Derby and Ipswich. Warnock would have struggled to handpick a more arduous quartet of Championship fixtures if he tried. How Rotherham need some sort of catalyst and with a due respect to Brentford, a fair second-tier side on their day, they really need to be winning Saturday’s game to give themselves a realistic chance of survival.

3. Fulham v Middlesbrough.

Boro return to Craven Cottage, scene of one of their most crushing moments of last term, with a crazy 4-3 defeat at the hands of Ross McCormack’s inspired hosts effectively ending their top two hopes last Spring.

A tasty sub-plot to Saturday’s game sees McCormack line up against the side who he was strongly linked with back in January - only for Fulham to play hard ball despite the striker’s obvious desire to head to Teesside and Boro to back off and pour all their energies into signing Jordan Rhodes.

Will brazen Boro fans barrack him? Giving the fact that the stick meted out from the visiting contingent in the Stevenage Road end in the corresponding game last April, it would perhaps be wise not too. McCormack scored a hat-trick on that fateful day.

Boro’s midweek win over Cardiff was badly-needed. But the trick is doubling up and taking the offensive momentum displayed against the Bluebirds into Saturday. Fulham, with the likes of McCormack and Moussa Dembele, will always pose problems. But they aren’t the most defensively diligent either. He who dares...

4. Doncaster Rovers v Millwall.

Make no mistake about it, Doncaster are pitted in a League One relegation fight, with derby defeat at Barnsley last weekend, coupled with results elsewhere, confirming that. Darren Ferguson will have had plenty of food for thought last Saturday night.

In all competitions, Ferguson’s side are seven matches without a win and lacking guile, conviction and confidence in the final third. Never a good sign, especially given the fact that Neil Harris’s Millwall are a team currently on the rise and with solid promotion aspirations.

Allied to Rovers’ lack of mojo up top has been some cheap concessions on home soil, with Ferguson’s men having lost their last three league matches at home and without a win in five. Worrying times, for sure. Stop the rot is the phrase.

5. Rochdale v Sheffield United.

The Blades have been afforded some bitter-sweet memories already in the north-west this calendar year. First up, an amazing rally at Wigan was followed an unlucky FA Cup loss at Manchester United. Next up was a turgid stalemate at Blackpool followed by a wholly grim defeat at Bury on a dark, dark night for Neil Adkins’s side.

The epitome of inconsistency this term, the Blades face another Roses encounter at Rochdale on Saturday, eager to vanquish that desperate performance not too far away at Gigg Lane on their last road trip.

All bets are off over which Blades side will turn up. But one thing is for sure, a replication of that Shakers show will be beyond the pale for many Unitedites.