Hull City's promising beginning to the Premier League campaign suggests a route to safety, supported by past trends indicating their points total is a strong sign. The team is currently 13th with 11 points from 10 matches, having achieved that total from their first nine, a level that has been important for new top-flight clubs. Their record of two wins and five draws from those ten games leaves them 16 points adrift of the summit.
In seasons since 2010, every promoted side that has gathered 11 or more points from its first nine games has stayed up. Hull City and another newly promoted team, Ipswich Town, have both hit that number, accounting for a large share of the points won by all three promoted clubs this season. Merely two teams in over a decade have survived with a lower points tally at this juncture.
This precedent offers encouragement for Kieran McKenna's team as they handle a difficult period. Their most recent five matches have yielded a mix of draws and a loss, including a narrow defeat by the league leaders last weekend. This sequence began with a 2-2 draw at home to Everton on Saturday 11 October, followed by a 1-0 loss at Fulham on Saturday 17 October, a 1-1 draw with Brentford on Sunday 25 October, and a 2-2 draw with Ipswich on Saturday 31 October. They have found the net as many times as they have let in goals so far this term, scoring 11 and conceding 11.
Attention now turns to a tough home game against high-flying Brighton next month. The fixture against the side sitting second in the table is scheduled for Sunday 22 November. Their leading marksman, M. Belloumi with three goals this season, will be important as Hull aim to develop their solid base at home.
First reported at bbc.co.uk
