Hull City will hope to cause another upset when they travel to Old Trafford for their Premier League meeting with Manchester United on Wednesday evening.
Manchester United and Hull are set to meet for the third time in only 23 days, following the two-legged EFL Cup semi-final. Man Utd triumphed 3-2 on aggregate, after a 2-0 win at Old Trafford was followed by a 2-1 defeat at the KCOM Stadium. They also faced the Tigers back in August when Marcus Rashford’s goal secured a 1-0 league success in East Yorkshire.
Jose Mourinho’s men were beaten 2-1 on a freezing cold night in Hull, but in controversial circumstances following a dubious penalty decision that led to Tom Huddlestone opening the scoring in the first half. Paul Pogba equalised after the break before Oumar Niasse hit a late winner, yet that was not enough to change the outcome of the semi-final.
They are unbeaten in their last 13 fixtures on the bounce and are well within a shout of the top four as they currently sit sixth in the standings, four points adrift of arch rivals Liverpool, who sit in the final Champions League spot.
Top four will be United’s priority, and they also have a chance of silverware after reaching the EFL Cup final, where they will face Southampton at Wembley on February 26. The Europa League trophy is also up for grabs for United, while they remain on course to retain their FA Cup crown after earning a comprehensive 4-0 win over Wigan Athletic in the fourth round on Sunday.
Since they faced Manchester United last Thursday night, the Tigers have exited the FA Cup as a result of a disappointing 4-1 defeat at Championship side Fulham. That game became a talking point over the weekend after Abel Hernandez missed two penalties inside one second-half minute. Their top scorer of seven goals, Robert Snodgrass, has completed his £10.2million transfer to West Ham and the Scotland international could make his debut against Manchester City this week.
Hull currently reside second from bottom in the standings after picking up 16 points from a possible 48, with just four wins and four draws. They have suffered 14 losses so far in the campaign, and have only tasted victory once in their last 11 outings.
During that time, Mike Phelan was replaced with new head coach Silva, who secured a win in his first Premier League game in charge. That result came in the form of a 3-1 win over Bournemouth on home turf.
Head to Head
This will be the third competitive meeting between these two teams inside 23 days, with them playing each other twice in the EFL Cup before this game. The Tigers have a miserable record over the Red Devils, having won just six of their 31 games in all competitions, while United have been victorious on 21 occasions and four have ended in draws.
Match Facts
- Manchester United are on the current longest unbeaten run in the Premier League (13 games – W7 D6 L0).
- This is the Red Devils’ longest unbeaten run in the Premier League since March 2013; an 18-game run under Sir Alex Ferguson.
- Manchester United have already attempted more shots on target in their 11 league games at Old Trafford this season (77) than they did in the whole of last season at home (75).
- No player has as many goals (7), has many assists (3), has created as many chances (45) and has had as many shots (39) for Hull City in the Premier League this season than Robert Snodgrass.
- Wayne Rooney has now scored in 148 different Premier League matches. The only players to score in more are Alan Shearer (190), Frank Lampard (149) and Andrew Cole (149).
Team News
Manchester United
Manchester United do not have any injury concerns and Jose Mourinho has a large squad at his disposal. Mourinho has confirmed Eric Bailly is fit and available for selection ahead of Wednesday’s Premier League encounter at home to Hull City.
Hull City
Marco Silva is waiting on the fitness of Michael Dawson ahead of the Tigers’ trip to Manchester United on Wednesday night. Dawson missed the FA Cup defeat at Fulham on Sunday with Silva describing the injury as ‘nothing special’. A decision on his fitness will be made after training on Tuesday afternoon.
Hull defender Curtis Davies (hamstring) joins a long injury list including midfielder Markus Henriksen (shoulder) and felloe centre-back Alex Bruce (calf/shin/heel) but will be replaced by January loan signing Andrea Ranocchia, who is clear to play at Old Trafford after joining from Inter Milan.
Midfielder Ryan Mason was discharged from hospital on Thursday but faces a lengthy recovery from his fractured skull, while Ahmed Emohamady remains on international duty, having helped Egypt reach the AFCON semi-finals.
It remains to be seen whether striker Dieumerci Mbokani will be fit enough to play after returning on a long-haul flight from the same tournament, but head coach Marco Silva insists full-back Andrew Robertson is not leaving and will be available to face Man Utd.
Predicted line-ups
Manchester United: De Gea; Valencia, Jones, Rojo, Shaw; Herrera, Carrick, Pogba; Mata, Ibrahimovic, Mkhitaryan
Hull City: Marshall; Maguire, Dawson, Ranocchia; Meyler, Clucas, Huddlestone, Henriksen, Robertson; Niasse, Hernandez
Sofascore
