Slaven Bilic will look to ease the pressure on his position at West Ham United, as the Hammers look to get their first win in five Premier League matches when they travel to Humberside to take on relegation fighters Hull City.

Three points up for grabs

There was a lack of hope for the Tigers in their return to the top-flight with a lack of players to begin the season with, but surprised many when they got off to a flying start but they seem to be back where many will have expected them to be.

Their poor form saw Mike Phelan fired and replaced by Marco Silva which many thought he would struggle to keep the Tigers above the relegation zone, but after a good start their form has began to flounder once again with just one league win since January 14.

That came in a crucial 2-1 win over fellow strugglers Swansea City, but their confidence was rocked again with goals from Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Enner Valencia and Romelu Lukaku giving Everton a comfortable 4-0 victory before the international break.

Hull felt hard done by after their trip to London Stadium back in December having hit the woodwork on three occasions, but with three points separating them and safety Silva will look to push his side to the limit against the Hammers.

In desperate need of points

It has been another rollercoaster for West Ham which started horrendously, but after a great surge of form at the beginning of the year there has been another deadly drop in results for the Stratford-based club.

The Hammers had some great results in late January/early February which was topped by a 3-1 away victory over Southampton, but have failed to taste victory since.

It has been five matches since the win on the South Coast which has also seen a three-game losing streak, which was topped before the international break with a 3-2 home defeat to the resurgent Leicester City.

This has seen the pressure rise on the Croatian and his position at the club, so Bilic will be desperate for his side to turn their fortunes around on Humberside.

Team news

A big boost for Silva's side will be the return of defender Michael Dawson, with the former Tottenham defender returning to full training this week after missing six matches with a calf injury.

David Marshall is also expected to be fit for the visit of the Hammers despite withdrawing from the Scotland squad with a him complaint. However, a big blow will be the absence of midfielder Tom Huddlestone after been dismissed in the defeat at Goodison Park.

Bilic will be boosted by the return of his skipper Mark Noble, who was missing from their latest defeat to the Foxes with a leg injury.

However, that defeat against Craig Shakespeare's side saw a triple blow in terms of team selection, with Michail Antonio (hamstring), Winston Reid (thigh) and Pedro Obiang (ankle) all picking up significant injuries.

Angelo Ogbonna remains sidelined, while Diafra Sakho has given Bilic some boost as he continues to make some significant progress on his return from a back problem.

West Ham United will travel to the KCOM Stadium to take on Hull City on Saturday, April 1 with kick-off at 3pm GMT.

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About the author
Danial  Kennedy
Award-winning sports journalism graduate. Currently studying a PR Masters at the University of Sunderland. Writing for VAVEL since August 2014. Twitter - @ddkjournalism.