Manchester City managed to return to form with their 7-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday in the Capital One Cup that came after four winless games in mid-week, and now The Blues are off on their travels again, this time to Hull City and the KC Stadium. City may now be in the next round of the cup but they’re still without a win in the league for a month and are in desperate need of one to try and close the gap on Chelsea at the top. However Hull are not going to be an easy challenge to overcome.
Last time City visited the KC Stadium came in March of this year, and it is fondly remembered as the game that Martin Demichelis came to the fore in (and the one Vincent Kompany was sent off in). Kompany was sent off after just 10 minutes in that game for bringing someone down through on goal, and that was Hull’s opportunity to beat City. Against all the odds though, David Silva and Edin Džeko both scored in a 2-0 win for The Blues. As well as that great win, Demichelis showed his quality for really the first time that day, putting in his sterling performance that started to win people over after a few poor months settling in in England.
In the reverse fixture last season the score was the same, but with Álvaro Negredo and Yaya Touré the scorers on half-time.
In Wednesday’s Capital One Cup game there were a few of City’s stellar players out missing with injury, adding to The Blues’ unluckiness with injuries in the last couple of years. Sergio Agüero (knee) and David Silva (ankle) both missed the visit of Sheffield Wednesday but should be back in the squad ready to face Steve Bruce and his Tigers. Samir Nasri was also a new addition to the injury list ahead of Wednesday but he’s likely to be absent until next weekend. Stevan Jovetić might be back into the squad for Saturday but is doubtful, whereas Fernando is still missing.
Steve Bruce has no injury worries to concern himself with ahead of the visit of the champions. Robert Snodgrass is still out with his injury that’s keeping him on the sidelines until May, but that’s the only concern for Steve Bruce.
Bruce will be keen to get his side back to form after the disappointing Capital One Cup exit on Wednesday. The Tigers were leading up until the 87th minute, but then two goals in a minute from Gareth McAuley and Saido Berahino turned it round for West Bromwich Albion.
Both of these teams have very different aims for the forthcoming season. The Citizens are likely to be targeting Champions League qualification at the very least this season, whereas Saturday’s hosts will be hoping to improve on last season’s 16th-place position. At this stage The Tigers are lying in 10th with 1 win, 3 draws and a single loss, which will be pleasing to the ears of Hull fans. However they’ve also been hit by early exits from the afore-mentioned Capital One Cup and also the Europa League.
In the visiting camp, City have been less-than underwhelming so far, not helped by the tough start including games against Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. To not lose to them has been an achievement (with draws against the first two and a 3-1 victory against Liverpool just under a month ago). Unfortunately the loss against Stoke did hit hard as it came just days before the international break.
Hull showed on a few occasions last season that the KC Stadium isn’t an easy place to go, and it won’t be on Saturday either. Something important for City is to not get frustrated if we aren’t breaking down Hull after 20 minutes or so, at which point we start hitting it long. Keep playing our natural game and we should be okay, but Hull won’t be an easy challenge by any means.
