Hull vs Wolves Preview

Hull City face play-off chasing Wolverhampton Wanderers in a game that feels like a reunion. Peter Taylor will face his old boss Glenn Hoddle. The two Cort brothers, Leon and Carl do battle for the first time and possible City captain Keith Andrews will also be facing his former club.

Put all that aside and we can focus on the Tigers needing to get three points. We haven’t won at home this year and we need to put that right as soon as possible. Lets hope it is tomorrow!

Vital Quotes:

Glenn Hoddle speaking ahead of the match:

‘I don’t think so, if we for some reason don’t get the result we want then it is still mathematically possible to reach the play-offs, so you can’t really brand it as a ‘must-win’.

‘That said, a third win on the trot would be a real boost to our confidence as we look to put a run together.

‘I’m not sure about how we will be looking to play on the day, that might be decided quite late as we’ll have to see how the pitch is up there. We’ve had some bad weather and they play rugby at the stadium at this time of year so it might not be great.’

Hull City Team News:

City have one fresh injury doubt with Kevin Ellison proving a slight concern. If that is the case then Stuart Elliott will be called back into the team.

Ryan France is back from suspension, but with Thelwell adapting to the team well, could we se France back at right midfield. Paynter doesn’t look comfortable there, nor does Fagan.

Welsh had an impressive game in mid-week for the Football League Side but will he be above Mark Noble in the team selection. Expect Andrews to start against his former club.

Up-front Parkin will be partnered by either Duffy or Fagan – I hope it will be Daryl Duffy.

City are still without Ian Ashbee, Stephen McPhee, Danny Coles and Nick Barmby who have long term injuries.

Player to watch: Leon Cort

He must have a good game tomorrow. Wolves have all their strikers available to choose from. If Carl Cort does play it will be great to see a battle between these brothers for the first time in their professional careers. Lets just hope it is Leon that will win it.

Commanding in the air, not too great on the deck but always a threat at set pieces he will be a handful for any striker to beat.

Wolves Team News:

Central defenders Jody Craddock and Gabor Gyepes will miss the game.

Fitness concerns hang over Paul Ince, Mark Kennedy and Colin Cameron. Ince is rated at 70/30 against starting the game at the KC.

With the injuries to the two defenders, Rob Edwards has been called up to play at centre-back.

Hoddle hopes to have one or two of his injured players back in time, but he is unsure. Naming the squad as late as possible is his only hope of being able to include one or more in tomorrow’s action.

Player to watch: Darren Anderton

I must admit it was slightly difficult to pick out one player. A veteran of the game, he is still going strong. A great passer of the ball with superb vision. Also deadly at set plays, City will have to make sure they don’t let a player of his calibre have the time and space to control and dominate tomorrow’s game.

Match Facts & Stats

This will be Wolves first trip to the KC Stadium. Back in September, City travelled to Wolves for our third game of the season.

Despite Wolves dominating for long periods, they only managed a 1-0 victory over a Tigers team who were adapting to the Championship. Hopefully we will give a better account of ourselves this time around.

Ref Watch:

Unknown as of yet.

Match Prediction:

A lot could depend on Wolves injury concerns. Craddock is a big loss and if they lost their enforcer Paul Ince then the Tigers could be in with a chance.

However, if you look at the quality and potential of the Wolves side you could be forgiven for thinking we might have a difficult day ahead of us.

The draw specialists against a team without a victory at home in 2006. My prediction is for a score draw 1-1 but I would love to see City get the victory and think it could be possible if Wolves suffer with injuries.