Hull City host Brentford at the MKM Stadium on Sunday afternoon seeking a first Premier League victory in four matches. The Tigers, sitting ninth with nine points from seven games, are looking to bounce back from a narrow defeat at Fulham last time out. Their record of two wins and three draws from those seven matches leaves them 12 points behind the league leaders.
Sergej Jakirović's side have drawn three of their opening seven fixtures. Their last outing was a 1-0 loss at Craven Cottage where Alex Iwobi's first-half strike proved decisive. That result on Saturday 17 October continued a difficult recent run of form, which now reads no wins, two draws and three losses from their last five matches, including defeats to Newcastle and Sunderland and draws with Everton and Chelsea. Jakirović acknowledged after the match that "it had been one of his team's weakest performances under his management".
Team news and key men
Hull will assess goalkeeper Jack Butland, who is doubtful with an elbow issue. They remain without a lengthy list including Eliot Matazo, Matt Targett and Darko Gyabi. Creative responsibility will fall to Mohamed El Bachir Belloumi, the team's top scorer with three goals this season. He netted a key equaliser in the 2-2 draw with Everton a fortnight ago, assisted by Elijah Stroud. The goal came in the 67th minute, securing a point for his side. In that match, Joe Gelhardt had opened Hull's scoring in the 48th minute.
Brentford arrive in sixth place, one point and three positions above Hull, with ten points from their seven matches. They have their own selection concerns with Yegor Yarmoliuk and Vitaly Janelt suspended, while Jannik Schuster is a doubt. Their attack is led by Kevin Schade, who also has three goals.
Recent form and context
Hull's recent form shows a team struggling to turn draws into wins, with their last victory coming over a month ago. The 2-2 result with Everton highlighted their fighting spirit, with Joe Gelhardt and Belloumi on target, but the Fulham defeat exposed a lack of cutting edge. The team has scored eight goals and conceded seven this season, giving them a positive goal difference of one. The next fixture, at home to Brentford on Sunday 25 October, provides a direct chance to close the gap to a top-six rival.
Brentford have drawn four times, indicating they are tough to beat but can be held. This fixture, originally scheduled for Saturday, was moved for television coverage. The match offers Hull a chance to close the gap to the top six in front of their home support at the 25,586-capacity MKM Stadium.
Hull City's next assignment is this Sunday's 2pm kick-off against Brentford, a key opportunity to climb the standings.
