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Following back-to-back league defeats, Hull City will target a home victory as they take on a Stoke City side that are also looking to get back to winning ways.
The Humberside club put in an encouraging shift in the FA Cup Third Round last weekend against Everton, but Andros Townsend’s extra-time winner sealed a 3-2 win for the Toffees and their place in the next round of the competition.
Grant McCann will be hoping that his side can build on their form in front of goal as they look to retain their Championship status and look to put recent league defeats against Nottingham Forest and Blackpool being them.
The club are currently in a state of limbo as fans eagerly await the announcement of Turkish businessman, Acun Ilicali, as the new Hull City owner.
McCann himself will be looking for confirmation on his future also with the club sitting four points above the relegation zone.
“Yes, we’ve lost the last couple of games but particularly in the two games we drew, we were very unfortunate. We just want to try and get back on the winning trail.
“We’ve got a tough week coming up – three games in a week and two of them against (teams in) the top three.
“It’s an exciting week, one we’re looking forward to, one we want to go and test ourselves against these three teams in the top 10 in the division. There’s nine points at stake, let’s see how many we can get.”
With the January transfer window now open, the Tigers will be looking to bring in reinforcements particularly with the departure of Josh Magennis in the week.
The Northern Ireland international has been an influential figure behind the scenes and formed part of the leadership group which McCann trusts to manage his dressing room. He was a pivotal figure in their promotion campaign from League One last season with 20 goals but they have since dried up after stepping up a division.
His departure from the club will for sure leave another gap in the striking department and he will need to be replaced.
Hull have lacked a consistent goalscorer in the campaign so far but Tyler Smith will be hoping to carry on from where he left off last weekend. The 23-year-old has also struggled for goals but he opened his account in the opening minute against Everton with a well-taken header that would have done his confidence wonders.
Ryan Longman, who has been a real bright point in the last eight games, continued with his form in front of goal with a sublime left-footed finish to get the Tigers back into the game against the Toffees.
Comfortable on the right or left side of the attack, Longman has been deployed as a wing-back but has scored some impressive goals from distance with either foot.
The loanee from Brighton & Hove Albion looks to have worked on his shooting technique and has been rewarded after a lot of hard work on the training ground. McCann’s reaction to his equaliser last weekend seemed to signify that as he celebrated with his assistant Cliff Jones.
Defensively there are no real concerns for Hull, and even despite their run of defeats that saw them struggling in the relegation zone, Sean McLoughlin has been outstanding in defence.
Since getting his opportunity following injury to Alfie Jones, the 25-year-old has seized his opportunity having had to remain patient on the sidelines for most of the last two seasons.
Playing in the centre of a defensive trio next to Di’Shon Bernard and Jacob Greaves, McLoughlin is emerging as a key performer. Showing real maturity, he has flourished with the responsibility and shown excellent positional sense.
His ability on the ball has also been a strong feature of Grant McCann’s insistence to play an attractive style of football and for his players to be confident on the ball in all areas of the pitch.
“I’ve got into the team recently, but I just want to build on that and stay in the team,” said McLoughlin.
“As a player, all you want to do is play week in, week out. It’s frustrating when you aren’t involved but you just have to stick at it and wait for your chance. I have shown that I can play at this level.”
“Stoke [City] have some really good players and have had some fantastic results throughout the league which sees them pushing for play-offs. We saw the quality they have when we went to their place a few months ago.
“I think we’re a different team to when we played them last because we’ve had some really good results since then.”
Stoke will be without manager Michael O’Neill on the touchline after he tested positive for COVID-19, but his Potters outfit will look to put themselves back into the promotion picture.
The Staffordshire outfit have recently stalled in the league, winning just once in their last five outings. However, they managed to progress into the next round of the FA Cup following a 2-0 win over Leyton Orient 2-0 courtesy of goals from Tom Ince and Tyrese Campbell.
Stoke may choose to field Phil Jagielka, a surprise signing on Friday after he became available on a free transfer. As Derby County’s troubles continue off the pitch, they were informed by the EFL that they will be under a further transfer embargo and would not be able to sign players during the month.
As Jagielka’s three-month contract expired, he immediately became a free agent, and within hours of his departure from Pride Park, he was putting pen to paper at the Bet365 Stadium.
The ex-Sheffield United man has been in excellent form for the Rams this season despite being nearly 40. He formed a formidable defensive partnership alongside Curtis Davis with their true grit and commitment to the cause. His experience to nurture the young members of the squad saw him become an important component of Wayne Rooney’s ‘Mission Impossible’ to keep the Rams up following their 21 points deduction.
Jagielka will now look to help Stoke get back on track and look up the table rather than down following their recent poor form.
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