Fabio Carvalho knows the importance of Wednesday’s clash between Hull City and Middlesbrough

Hull City loan star Fabio Carvalho set out the clear approach for Hull City as they prepare to host Middlesbrough on Wednesday evening in a crucial game for both sides as far as their fading play-off hopes are concerned.

The two sides sit level on points – six behind Norwich City, who currently occupy the final play-off spot. With that in mind, it feels like a must-win game for both sides if they wish to keep what are already faint hopes alive.

For Hull, they welcome Boro after ending a costly blip in form that has allowed Boro to leapfrog them in the league table despite 12 points dividing the two sides after Michael Carrick’s side lost at Stoke City last month. The Cardiff win was much-needed for the Tigers, but they’re now keen to turn their home form around, having failed to win any of their last five games at the MKM Stadium.

Having scored the brace that sealed an important win in South Wales on Saturday, Liverpool loanee Carvalho told Hull Live ahead of Boro’s visit: “We know what we have to do to get three points and we stuck to the game plan. There were times when we could have played a bit better, but we’ve noted what we need to improve on, and we’ll take it on in the next game.

“We’ve highlighted that (the home form), and we’ve highlighted that the best time to peak as a team and individually is now. The best time is now. And that’s the only time we’ve got, we can’t really let games go by. We just need to keep sticking to the game plan because our manager is one of the best in the league, if not the best.

“We’ve got good players and we’re going to keep sticking to the game plan, and we’ll see where it gets us. We need to to approach every game as if it’s our last game and every game as if it’s a big game and I feel like that’s where we’ve been lacking lately.”