Fulham host Hull City at Craven Cottage on October 17 in Premier League Regular Season - Round 7, a matchday where the season is starting to take shape. The league table gives the fixture its main storyline: Fulham are 20th, while Hull City arrive in 8th.

That gap in position contrasts with the underlying results. Across the four league matches in the supplied form data (Rounds 3 to 6), neither side has won. Fulham have a loss to Crystal Palace (2-3 on September 5), draws with Liverpool (0-0 on September 12) and Manchester United (1-1 on September 20), and a 2-1 defeat at Ipswich on October 10. Hull have drawn 0-0 with Aston Villa, drawn 2-2 at Chelsea, lost 2-1 at Newcastle and drawn 2-2 with Everton on October 11. Hull's position therefore rests on a run of draws, while Fulham's rests on a run that has produced two draws and two defeats.

Defensive records are a second point of comparison. Fulham conceded six goals in those four league matches and scored four. Hull also conceded six but scored five. Fulham's Alvaro Arbeloa will be looking to tighten a back line that has conceded in three of those four games, while Sergej Jakirovic's side have scored in three of their last four league outings and kept one clean sheet, the 0-0 with Villa.

Both clubs also played League Cup Round of 32 ties in September. Fulham won 3-2 at West Ham on September 15 and Hull lost 1-0 at Sunderland on September 8. These matter only as part of the schedule.

Neither club has reported any unavailable players, so both managers should have their full squads to choose from. That includes Fulham's attacking options such as Gonzalo García and Oscar Bobb, and Hull's O. McBurnie and J. Gelhardt.

You can find a more detailed breakdown in our full Fulham vs Hull City analysis.

Hull sit higher in the table, and Fulham are looking for their first league win in the matches covered by this data.