Hull City, put down by many as relegation candidates before the start of the season, are defying the odds and are currently sat in the play-off places under Sergej Jakirovic, who is managing in England for the first time following spells with Kayserispor and Dinamo Zagreb.

They do, however, come into this one, having lost two of their last three. Both of those were away from home. At the MKM Stadium, they are unbeaten in their last six games.

Goalkeepers

Ivor Pandur is currently the man in possession of the goalie gloves but that may not be the case for much longer with a couple of poor performances back-to-back against Derby and Portsmouth, which has dropped his goals prevented to –1.83

His main saving grace comes from the fact that back-up keeper Dillon Phillips has only made one appearance for the club when he conceded three goals to Wrexham in the Carabao Cup.

Defenders

Hull have switched between a back four and a back five across the season, but three players have featured in the majority of games no matter the shape of the backline. In a combination of youth and experience, Charlie Hughes and John Egan have formed a solid partnership in central defence.

Twenty-two-year-old Hughes has already captained the Tigers on a number of occasions this season. He’s won 66% of his ground duels so far.

Whilst Hughes still has his career ahead of him, Egan’s is winding down. The Irishman has spent the majority of it at Sheffield United with a brief dalliance at Burnley.

The other main starter is left-back Ryan Giles, who already has seven assists this season, including one in Hull’s trip to QPR on Saturday. We mention the Leif Davis mould a lot, but Giles was actually the one to do it first with 12 assists in the 2022/23 season for Middlesbrough. He could be set to beat that total this season.

When Jakirovic has switched to a back three, it’s Semi Ajayi who has come in to provide a more physical presence. He had injury problems towards the end of his time with West Brom but has now played a string of games back-to-back.

Lewie Coyle has been with Hull since 2020 and provides a solid option at right-back. He’s also upped his creative output this season and is already on three assists which equals his career best.

Cody Drameh is the more progressive right wing-back option who has found a new home at Hull having not cut the mustard at Leeds. The 23-year-old still has plenty of years left in him and has been exposed to plenty of first-team football at a young age. He’s certain to be a better player now than he was on his trip to Portman Road with Leeds in August 2024, when he was hooked at half-time having only come on in the 24th minute.

Akin Famewo and former Town loanee Brandon Williams are also in the squad but have played a combined 56 minutes in the league.

Midfielders

The centre of the pitch is currently a problem area for the Tigers with John Lundstrum, Kasey Palmer and Eliot Matazo all on the injury list.

Amir Hadžiahmetović and Regan Slater represent the most defensive options. Bosnian Hadžiahmetović is on loan from Besiktas and is very good at winning his ground duels, while Slater, who has been with Hull since 2022, is a bit of an all-rounder who doesn’t stand out in any particular stat.

Slightly more dynamic options in that role are Darko Gyabi and Matt Crooks. Gyabi has followed Drameh out of Leeds to the Tigers and has largely featured as a sub netting his first goal for the club against Norwich.

Matt Crooks was a Town target before he joined Middlesbrough in 2021, then left Teesside for the US climes of Real Salt Lake. The 31-year-old has 33 Championship goals to his name and made his name at Boro with his box crashing abilities. He’s made a solid start to his Tigers career with two goals and two assists but is suspended on Tuesday.

Attackers

The trend of Town facing a side shorn of their main man could continue in this one with Ollie McBurnie having suffered a recurrence of a calf injury back in October. Up to that point, he had six goals in ten games and like Kieffer Moore offers an old-fashioned physical presence leading the line.

He’s been replaced in recent games by Turk Enis Destan, who was signed on a free this summer following the expiry of his Trabzonspor contract. He made an impact, scoring on his first start for the club against Portsmouth and adding another against QPR.

Also on the scoresheet in that one were both wingers, Joe Gelhardt and Kyle Joseph. That goal represented Gelhardt’s seventh of the season, five of which have come from his last six games. Joseph’s took his total to a less impressive three.

With Liam Millar also on the treatment table, Joel Ndala and Mohamed Belloumi are the wing back-ups.

The Teams

There was more rotation against Wrexham as Kieran McKenna sticks to his plan on giving opportunities to everyone in the squad. Some players are taking those opportunities more than others.

I honestly don’t know where will be freshened up for this one but my guess would be the number 10, the striker and the left sided centre-back.

Hull have gone unchanged in their last two and could well be largely unchanged again. The only switch I could potentially see them making is bringing Darko Gyabi in for the banned Crooks, providing more energy in the middle of the pitch.

Prediction

In terms of style Hull are one of two teams who play direct football but press more aggressively. The other side is Blackburn and we know how that turned out.

I think this will be a more open game than against Wrexham. Hull will definitely come out looking to win which could play into Ipswich’s hands. I’m going for a 1-0 away win.

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