Hull City are due to host promotion aspirants Aston Villa at the KCOM Stadium on Monday in their first Championship fixture of the 2018-19 campaign. Nigel Adkins’ men weren’t at their best during pre-season and a lot of improvement is clearly needed.
Apart from their 1-2 win over Maritimo, they did not taste victory and it will take a lot of effort to nick a win against Villa.
They are coming on the back of an extremely difficult season where they finished in the 18th place and Adkins would like his team to start the new season on a positive note.
Some of their key players like Allan McGregor, Michael Dawson and Abel Hernandez have already left the club this summer. However, it will be intriguing to see how the likes of Reece Oxford, Jordy de Wijs and David Milinkovic fare after their arrival.
Hull City Team News
Jackson Irvine and Kamil Grosicki are likely to miss their side’s opening fixture. While Irvine is ill, Grosicki is having ‘personal issues’ to deal with and the absence of the duo is definitely going to be a major loss for Adkins. Ondrej Mazuch and James Weir are also out of contention with knee injuries.
PREDICTED HULL CITY LINE-UP TO FACE ASTON VILLA (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper
George Long is expected to feature in goal and will be kept busy by the Villa attackers. The 24-year-old moved from Sheffield United earlier this summer and will be keen to make a positive impact.
Defence
Burke and de Wijs are expected to be picked as the central defensive pairing. Both the newcomers have to adjust with the tactical nous of Adkins and form an understanding between themselves. It will be important for Hull to have a solid base from where the team can gradually gel and grow in confidence.
Meanwhile, we expect Stephen Kingsley to operate from the left-back slot and Eric Lichaj to start from the right-back. The fullbacks will have an important role to play against Villa’s wide men.
Midfield
Daniel Batty and Kevin Stewart are likely to team up as the double pivot in the midfield. Jon Toral might start in a slightly more advanced position.
Attack
Fraizer Campbell is expected to start up front. And Adkins is likely to station Milinkovic and Jarrod Bowen on the flanks with the two of them being tasked with providing the service to Campbell.
