Tigers v The Owls Preview

Hull City bring 2007 to an end with a mouth watering derby against local rivals Sheffield Wednesday at the K.C Stadium on sunday. A win would firmly cement the Tigers in the top half of the table and put us in good shape for a play off push in 2008.

Vital Quotes:

City Boss Phil Brown

‘You always look forward to your derby matches, especially when they are at home,’ said Brown.

‘Your home form is always important, but when you get your close rivals coming it’s always nice to turn them over.

‘We’re looking to win the game and to cement our relationship with the top half of the table.

‘But it’s not going to be easy. When we played at Hillsborough earlier this season, we played well enough to take something from the game but we came away with a 1-0 defeat.

‘I think Sunday will be a blood and thunder game. The fans will play a massive part in that and our supporters will have to get out of their seats and make a noise.

Wednesday Manager Brian Laws

‘We can see the league is very, very tight and we don’t want to be sucked back into trouble. We are well aware that there may be a scenario where we are pulled into the bottom three purely because we play on Sunday.

‘But we mustn’t get worried about that and we won’t be, we are focussing all our attention on winning our own game against Hull.’

Hull City Team News:

Tigers boss Brown is sweating on the fitness of three players ahead of Sundays clash, Captain Ian Ashbee picked up a slight knock on Boxing day aginst Wolves, Andy Dawson has a scratch on his eye lens and Sam Ricketts has a hamstring strain. Nathan Doyle is on standby to replace Ricketts, with Damien Delaney being used as cover for Andy Dawson. If Ashbee doesnt make it then City could well field a midfield duo of David Livermore & Dean Marney. Striker Dean Windass is pushing for a start and could well replace either Folan or Campbell if Brown opts to rest one of them. Nick Barmby should be on the bench as he continues his recovery from injury.

Player to watch: Dean Windass

If Deano does get a start then he will be looking to get one over on our Yorkshire rivals, he is the sort of player who thrives in these type of games and you can almost guarantee he will get a goal or two.

Sheffield Wednesday Team News:

Owls boss Brian Laws has been boosted by the return from injury of strikers Akpo Sodje and Francis Jeffers, both could feature in Sundays game with Sodje favourite to start. Laws will be without winger Wade Small who limped out of Wednesdays boxing day game against Burnley and defender Steve Watson will have a late fitness test just before kick off. Ex Tiger Richard Hinds should be in the Owls starting eleven as he looks forward to a happy return to the K.C Stadium.

Player to watch: Marcus Tudgay

The Wednessday striker hasnt quite hit the high notes this season, but his ability to hold up the ball and bring others into play will be crucial to the Owls attacking play, good in the air, the Tigers defence will have to be alert at set pieces and corners.

Match Facts & Stats

The last six fixtures between the sides have brought 3 wins for The Tigers, 2 for The Owls and one draw. The last fixture back in September saw the Tigers succumb to a 1-0 defeat at Hillsborough.

Current Form

Hull City DLLWDW

Sheff Wed WLDLLD

Ref Watch:

Michael Jones from Chester is todays referee, the last time he took charge of a City game was back in September with our away fixture aginst Wolves, booking Dean Windass in the process.

Match Prediction:

As always it will be a no holds barred battle at the K.C and i can see a close victory for the Tigers 2-1

Next Fixtures:

Stoke City v Hull City 1st Jan 2008 CCC

Sheff Wed v Preston 1st Jan 2008 CCC