Hull City welcome back Marco Silva but there can be no room for sentiment as Fulham visit

Hull City welcome Marco Silva back to Humberside but there will be little room for sentiment after the Tigers’ dip in results threatens to drag them back into a relegation scrap.

Hull City welcome former boss Marco Silva back to the MKM Stadium on Saturday as league leaders Fulham look to extend their impressive form at the top of the Championship table.

Following a wobble in form, after a fine start to new manager Shota Arveladze’s life at the club, the Tigers will be looking to bounce back from disappointing defeats to Preston North End and Derby County in the past week.

Alarmingly, Hull’s performance against points deducted Derby was described as abject in many quarters. City were only thrown a lifeline through Craig Forsyth’s 65th minute own goal, but at that stage, they were already three goals down to the Rams after a promising opening.

With Nathan Baxter still missing in goal, and changes made in the midfield, City have not looked themselves in the past two games after beating the likes of Swansea City, Bournemouth and Blackburn Rovers – the last two games under the departing Grant McCann.

The Hull manager is looking for a response from his players despite being up against the in-form side in the division.

“They’re reacting well and they’ve shown that in training, and I’m hoping they’ll also show that in the game,” Arveladze said.

“If you look at the goals they score, the way they play and the points they have, then you have to say they’re the best team in the league at the moment.”

This season, Alfie Jones, who has struggled with hamstring injuries, has returned to the starting line-up and is keen to put Tuesday’s disappointing evening behind them at Derby.

Jones said: “As a performance, it was not good enough all over the pitch and we’re looking to do that straight away.

“We take every game as it comes. They’re the best team in the league and they’ve shown that in their performances but as a player you want to test yourselves against the best and there’s no better way than doing that on Saturday.”

There will be another new face in the dugout following the appointment of 49-year-old Peter van der Veen as assistant coach. The Dutchman has a good pedigree having worked with Ajax and Sparta Rotterdam as well as the Dutch national team at youth level, where he led their under-17 side to victory in the 2019 European Championships.

Fulham arrive in excellent form. They gave Manchester City an early scare in the FA Cup and followed that up with a comfortable 3-0 win over Millwall in midweek.

With Aleksandar Mitrovic bagging his 30th goal of the campaign after only two-thirds of the season gone and Fabio Carvalho in exceptional form, the Tigers will have to be at their very best to earn something out of the game.

One man, in particular, will be looking forward to the trip to Humberside from London. Fulham boss Marco Silva enjoyed his first stint in English football at Hull in 2017, where he took charge of 22 games.

“It will be the first time back [since leaving]so it will definitely be special for me and my staff,” said Silva.

“The way they welcomed us, the way they made us feel part of the football club, they made us feel at home. It was really special for me, every single moment I had in that football club.

“Unfortunately we didn’t achieve the main thing [Premier League survival] but I will never forget the way the people supported me.

“It will be special to see some people again and to be at a game in that stadium.”

With Fulham starting to pull away from the pack and scoring an impressive 77 goals – 30 more than 2nd placed Bournemouth –  Silva is conscious there is no room for complacency in this division despite their form.

The Fulham boss said: “A good number of players are having fantastic seasons, and it’s up to us to keep working with them individually to improve. But always, at the top, is the collective.

“Everyone at this football club is pleased, we’re happy with the situation now, but we know big fights are ahead and we have to keep our feet on the ground, respect our job and be humble enough to understand what type of competition we are playing in.”

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