Ipswich Town take on Hull City, at The KC Stadium, in a Championship match this afternoon (3pm). Here’s all you need to know.
Ipswich Town boss Mick McCarthy has hinted he could go on the attack at struggling Hull City this afternoon.
The new-look Tigers lost three games on the spin prior to the recent international break, fans are protesting against the club’s Egyptian owners, while Russian boss Leonid Slutsky has admitted he could soon be sacked.
It’s certainly not been dull at the KC Stadium, with an average of four goals per match witnessed there this campaign. The East Yorkshire outfit are scoring plenty (28), but conceding even more (30).
Asked if he could unleash his free-scoring front four of Martyn Waghorn, ‘David McGoldrick, Bersant Celina and Joe Garner once more, McCarthy said: “If they are scoring that many goals, maybe they are leaving themselves a bit open. I guess that could have been levelled at us over too, but thankfully two weeks ago (3-0 home win against Preston) we didn’t.
“Have they got an Achilles’ heel at the back and if I play all my strikers will we score? Or will that leave us open and they score? I don’t know. That’s what it’s about, isn’t it?
“We’ve been a real threat with our front players on the pitch. And it’s always open then to scrutiny and criticism if you play your front four, win, they play well and then you change it and you don’t.
“We’ll be taking care of them, but equally I would imagine they’ll be looking at us and will be thinking we’ve got threats on the pitch.
“If they’re playing well and all scoring goals and all being a threat, then quite clearly it’s a real asset to have on the pitch and somebody’s got to stop you scoring. No matter what they’re doing, they’ve got to stop our threat.”
He added: “But if one of them suddenly dried up or wasn’t playing well or we stop scoring goals, it might become more important that we have to be solid. At the moment it’s working, but I am prepared to change it if it’s not working, of course.”
With Hull hovering just above the drop zone, the Blues boss said: “It’s a hard turnaround for clubs that come down. I’ve just seen a pretty good mate of mine, Simon Grayson, who I thought would be nailed on to be the right fit for Sunderland, out on his earhole after 16 games. It’s not easy to turn those big juggernaut clubs around once they start going, as we saw with Wolves.”
Opposition lowdown
Team name: Hull City
Nickname: The Tigers
Manager: Leonid Slutsky (Jan ‘17) – P17 W4 D4 L0
Ground: KC Stadium (25,586)
Position last season: 18th in Premier League Current position: 20th in Championship
Form: LLLWDWLDDLLWLLLWD
Last game: L 4-1 to Sheffield United (a)
Top-scorer: Jarrod Bowen (8)
Most assists: Kamil Grosicki (4)
Biggest win 17/18: 6-1 v B’ham (h) – Sept 30
Biggest defeat 17/18: 5-0 v Derby (a) – Sept 8
Stat attack
2 – Hull clean sheets in 17 games this season.
4 – Average goals per game at the KC Stadium this season.
5-2 – The score when Town last won at the KC Stadium (March 2007).
9 – Games without a win against Hull (D2 L7).
21 – Home goals scored by Hull (six more than anyone else in division).
24 – Games without a draw for Ipswich Town.
Last meetings
Ipswich Town 0 Hull City 1
Date: Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Mohamed Diame’s cool finish (48) saw Town’s 16-game winning run on Tuesday nights at Portman Road come to an end.
The Tigers, who went on to win the play-offs, had won the earlier reverse fixture 3-0 through goals from Alex Bruce, Cuba Akpom and David Meyler.
Ipswich Town team news
• Cole Skuse (shin) and David McGoldrick (slight groin) have both been passed fit. • Tom Adeyemi continues to struggle with a hamstring injury and isn’t due back until December. • Emyr Huws has made three appearances for the Under-23s following a long-term Achilles issue and could be eased back into the first team fold soon. • Teddy Bishop played 45 minutes for the U23s recently, but Mick McCarthy says he is ‘nowhere near ready’ for the first team. , Tommy Smith won’t be involved after travelling the world to represent New Zealand in a two-legged World Cup qualifier against Peru.
• Luke Hyam and Andre Dozzell (both knee) remain long-term absentees.
Hull City team news
• Frazier Campbell is suspended, with fellow striker Nouha Dicko a slight doubt after he withdrew from the Mali squad. • Midfielder Jackson Irvine only returned to training yesterday after travelling the world to represent Australia in a two-legged World Cup qualifier against Honduras. • Kevin Stewart, Abel Hernandez, Jon-Miquel Toral, Moses Odubajo, Stephen Kingsley, Ryan Mason and Will Keane are all key long-term injuries.
Opposition key man
Jarrod Bowen Snapped up when Hereford when bust in 2014, the 20-year-old fearless forward has gone from on the fringes in the Premier League to star man in the Championship. He’s already bagged eight goals.
Betting
Hull City 21/20 Draw 11/4 Ipswich Town 14/5
Referee
David Coote (Nottinghamshire) Games: 8, Yellows: 31, Reds: 0
Stu’s prediction
Hull City 1 Ipswich Town 2
Hull look fragile and under pressure, while Town have spirit and firepower.
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