The high-flying Tigers were put in their place as Chelsea ran out 3-0 winners at the KC Stadium on Wednesday and they now face a daunting trip to Manchester United on Saturday.

Yet Hull hit back superbly from their 5-0 thrashing by Wigan in August, winning at Newcastle to kickstart a six-game unbeaten run that lifted them to third in the table.

Brown said: "Does lightning strike twice? Of course you take heart from that but we had two weeks to prepare after that defeat. We have only got two days to prepare for this one.

"Most of the time, players have stepped up to the plate when the challenge has been thrown at them and hopefully that will be the case on Saturday."

Tony Adams will be hoping for his first win as Portsmouth manager as Wigan visit Fratton Park.

Pompey went down 1-0 in Adams' first match at Liverpool but Harry Redknapp's former assistant will be looking for better against the struggling Latics.

"It is hard to be pleased when we have lost 1-0, but for my first game I am pretty pleased with the performance," said Adams.

"If they show that level of commitment to me, to themselves and the club we will not go far wrong."

The match has taken on extra importance for Wigan, who slipped into the bottom three after losing 2-0 to two Andrew Johnson goals at Fulham.

The Latics have now lost four in succession, and manager Steve Bruce said: "I'll be glad to see the back of October, that's for sure.

"It's been a poor month for us, we've lost all four games, so roll on November."

Everton, the club that sold Johnson in the summer, will be the next team to face the striker as Fulham visit Goodison Park.

It is a game Johnson's former strike partner Ayegbeni Yakubu is relishing after scoring a hat-trick against the Cottagers last season.

"I have great memories against Fulham," the Nigerian told Everton TV.

"I've always scored against them, even when playing for Portsmouth and Middlesbrough. So I'm hoping to do it again."

Sunderland are next up for Chelsea at Stamford Bridge; the Wearsiders looking to pick themselves up after their midweek loss to Stoke ended celebrations from their derby win against Newcastle.

Boss Roy Keane was disappointed with Wednesday's performance and admits his side need to find some consistency.

"For a long time now this club has been inconsistent and it is something I have to sort out," Keane told the club's website, www.safc.com.

"It's hard to put a finger on what went wrong. Maybe it was a mental thing, you have to earn the right to win a game and we didn't.

"There will have to be a big improvement against Chelsea."

Stoke, whose victory over Sunderland lifted them to 15th, face a tough task as Arsenal visit the Britannia Stadium.

But coach Gerry Francis is confident the Potters can follow up with another victory.

"We know what Arsenal are all about," Francis told the club's website, www.stokecityfc.com.

"They are an exceptional side but on our day we know we can cause anybody problems.

"Every game we have played we have had chances, and we went to Liverpool and got a point when nobody expected us too."

Gianfranco Zola will hope to get his West Ham side back to winning ways at Middlesbrough after four successive defeats while Blackburn travel to West Brom looking to bounce back from a 3-2 defeat at Aston Villa.

Also this weekend, Bolton host Manchester City on Saturday and Newcastle take on Villa on Monday.