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The promotion race in League One is hotting up nicely as Hull City take on Oxford United at the KCOM this weekend.
With only five points separating the top four sides and a host of clubs jostling to get into the play-off positions, the promotion run-in isn’t going to be for the faint-hearted.
With no side quite yet pulling away from the pack, endurance will be a vital commodity going into the final quarter of the season. Whilst the Tigers currently top the table, having played two games more than their nearest rivals, they’ll be conscious to keep their points cushion ticking along.
Grant McCann’s side are currently in a purple patch of form and have answered questions over their goal potency in the past month with the majority of their strikers on the scoresheet. On the back of four successive victories, Hull’s fanbase are starting to believe that their side can maintain hitting the right notes.
To quote a famous Billy Ocean song ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going’ , the Tigers tenacity has shone in recent weeks as from top to bottom, they are demonstrating the type of consistency that has frustrated supporters for a large part of this campaign.
Striker Mallik Wilks has moved onto 20 goals for the season registering his 26th goal in 58 appearances for the Tigers and with Keane Lewis-Potter, restored to the starting line up against Peterborough, grabbing the all-important third goal in an excellent 3-1 away win, their forward line is looking hungry for more.
With George Honeyman racking up another assist (his twelfth of the campaign) and winning his sides crucial penalty with his usual tenacity on Tuesday, the Tigers aren’t far from off from firing on all cylinders across the park.
Hull’s individual form has been so consistent in recent weeks that one of the divisions top prospects in Josh Emmanuel, hasn’t been on the fringes due to the form of Lewie Coyle at right-back.
Coyle, a summer signing from Fleetwood, has been in excellent form since winning the shirt back in January. Now captaining the side in the absence of long-term injury victim Richie Smallwood, Coyle is going to take some shifting.
Whilst Hull’s forward players will grab their headlines, Jacob Greaves and Reeve Burke as a centre back pairing have been in stubborn mood for months, bar the freak 3-3 draw at Doncaster last month.
Callum Elder at full-back continues to be another consistent performer that continues to go under the radar but his delivery from set-pieces can be just as devastating as George Honeyman’s. The 26-year-old Australian has an impressive eight assists for the season.
McCann will be quietly confident, without getting too carried away, that his side are in a good position going into their final eleven games of the campaign. However, the Tigers boss knows only too well about the threat that Oxford possess. He told the club website:
“They’re one of the best footballing teams in the division. They’ve got a manager who knows the league very, very well in Karl Robinson.
“It doesn’t surprise me to see the run they’ve been on over the last four or five months and how they’ve propelled themselves right onto the coattails of the top six.
“They’re a good team, they’ve got good players, play a really good style of football. They’re the best pressing team in the division.”
Despite Peterborough being reduced to ten men on Tuesday evening with the scores at 1-1, the belief is growing amongst McCann’s troops. Not only beating top of the league on their own mud patch, Peterborough also boasted the best home record in the division and were the in-form side to beat in the division. The convincing 3-1 win will have been a huge boost to all affiliated.
The visit of Oxford United will be another banana skin to avoid with the U’s still in the hunt for a play-off spot. Having missed the creative influence of the injured Marcus McGuane, Oxford have found themselves back on the goal trail in recent weeks. With an upturn in results and buoyed by a derby day win over local rivals Swindon Town on Tuesday night, manager Karl Robinson will be hoping his side can pull off an upset as they look to rekindle their play-off aspirations.
“There is still a buzz around the building at a job well done on Tuesday”
“The players knew what it meant to the fans, especially after the flak we got for losing the game at our place. We all realised how much it meant and we got the job done.
“So we have just won a derby day and now we have to take the emotion away, disconnect from that game but show the same passion on Saturday at Hull.”
Currently sat in ninth position, just two points adrift of the sixth place play-off spot, Robinson will be looking to continue with the momentum that has seen his side unbeaten in their last four outings. With plenty more twists and turns to come in the season’s finale, tomorrow’s encounter could well provide a huge psychological boost for the winning team. It’s game on in League One.
Team News:
Hull will welcome Josh Magennis back into the squad for Saturday and have also confirmed that both Lewie Coyle and Alfie Jones will be available, having picked up knocks in midweek against Peterborough.
Oxford will have forward Elliot Lee available after suspension but will be monitoring the fitness of Cameron Brannagan and Mide Shodipo, who are both nursing injuries from the Swindon game.
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