Looking to bounce back following a heavy defeat last time out, Hull City will welcome promotion chasers Sunderland to the MKM Stadium on Sunday afternoon in the Championship.
The Tigers lost at the home of Norwich City prior to the international break, whilst the Black Cats secured a share of the spoils versus a fellow title contender at the Stadium of Light.
Match preview
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After a seventh-placed finish in the Championship last season - missing out on the lottery of the playoffs by just three points - a much-changed Hull City side are on a mission to earn a top-six placement this time around and eventually achieve promotion to the Premier League for the first time since 2016.
Three successive wins over Stoke City, strugglers Cardiff City and Queens Park Rangers by an aggregate scoreline of 10-3 over the past month suggested that the Tigers had turned a page following a stuttering start to the season, but a 4-0 defeat at Norwich prior to the international break brought supporters back down to Earth once again.
Despite mustering up over 15 shots at Carrow Road, Hull were unable to breach the net of Angus Gunn and George Long over the course of the 90 minutes, with efforts from Marcelino Nunez, Josh Sargent, Kaide Gordon and Borja Sainz securing maximum points for the hosts at Carrow Road.
After winning three, drawing three and losing three of their opening nine second-tier contests, the Tigers are currently occupying 13th position in the Championship table, four points behind sixth-placed Watford and five points better off when compared to Queens Park Rangers in 22nd.
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Following a season of mediocrity and a subsequent 16th-placed finish, Sunderland appear to be heading in the right direction towards the Premier League so far in 2024-25, with the arrival of French tactician Regis Le Bris working well alongside an exciting crop of young talent.
After breezing past newly-promoted Derby County on October 1, the Black Cats proved that they can mix it with the best in the division three days later at the Stadium of Light, where a comical Illan Meslier own goal in added-on time resulted in a 2-2 draw with Leeds United.
Scoring the opening goal of the contest against the Whites, 17-year-old wonderkid Chris Rigg stole the headlines on the night once again for Sunderland, with the academy graduate showing why he is attracting interest from Premier League giants Manchester United and Liverpool.
Heading into a busy run of fixtures prior to the November international break, the Black Cats are sitting pretty at the top of the Championship standings, level on points with second-placed Sheffield United, who were handed a two-point deduction at the start of the campaign.
Team News
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Hull remain without the services of midfielder Ryan Longman, with the 23-year-old yet to feature this campaign due to a shoulder injury.
Joining the Englishman on the sidelines, Timothee Lo-Tutala is battling back from a leg injury as he prepares for his first-ever Tigers appearance.
After a heavy defeat at Norwich before the international pause, Walter could make some alterations to his Hull XI, with Ryan Giles and Steven Alzate pushing hard for starts.
Providing four goal contributions across six Championship matches so far this season, Eliezer Mayenda has seen his stellar start to the term blighted by injury in recent weeks.
Supporters of the Black Cats are yet to enjoy the full talents of winger Ian Poveda, who played just 44 minutes of football before picking up a muscle injury.
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Pandur; Coyle, Jones, Hughes, Giles; Slater, Alzate, Mehlem; Belloumi, Millar, Bedia
Sunderland possible starting lineup:
Patterson; Hume, Mepham, O'Nien, Cirkin; Rigg, Neil; Bellingham, Roberts, Mundle; Isidor
We say: Hull City 1-2 Sunderland
Despite an upturn in results prior to the international break, Hull have generally struggled against the better teams in the Championship, and we expect that narrative to continue on Sunday afternoon.
Sunderland survived a scare to collect a point versus Leeds and should be confident of getting back to winning ways at the MKM Stadium this weekend.
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