Hull FC coach Lee Radford has tipped arch rivals Hull KR as red-hot favourites going into Saturday's Magic Weekend derby.
The Black and Whites are looking to avoid a hat-trick of defeats following back-to-back home losses to Widnes and Wigan.
Rovers are not exactly firing on all cylinders and haven't won since their 21-20 derby victory at the KC Lightstream Stadium, drawing last week at Salford Red Devils.
But despite both sides' recent struggles, Radford has tried to pile all the pressure on his rivals.
He told the Mail: "The fact that they're in good form and they got the result against us last time means they're red-hot favourites, and rightly so.
"It takes a little bit of pressure off of us. Hull KR are a tidy side and they probably out-derbied us last time out.
"We've spoken about every aspect from the first derby where we think we can get in front and we've got to try and execute that."
With Radford looking to switch things around in his FC pack in particular, he says the squad need a little bit of luck to kick-start their season again.
"As you can imagine when you lose like we have been, the players are all pretty fragile," he said.
"It goes without saying when you've lost a couple of games your confidence isn't where it needs to be.
"We'd love a bit of the bounce of the ball, and we need a bit. We want to get out of the minor rut that we're in.
"We want to get this result for the fans and we want to put a smile back on their faces."
