Hull City begin life back in the Premier League with a tough test against Manchester United.
Hull achieved promotion via last season’s Championship Play-Offs as they beat Millwall in the semi-finals then Middlesbrough in the final, only after their initial opposition – Southampton were expelled for spying.
Manchester United meanwhile finished third last season after Michael Carrick replaced Ruben Amorim in January.
Team News
Cody Drameh is fit for Hull after he missed much of pre-season with a hamstring injury.
Jack Butland (arm), Eliot Matzo (ACL), Darko Gyabi (adductor), Charlie Hughes (hernia), Hidemasa Morita (calf), Oscar Zambrano (hamstring), Joe Gelhardt (ankle) and Matty Jacob (hip) are ruled out.
Man Utd will have second-choice goalkeeper, Karl Darlow available after he recovered from a minor operation in pre-season, having signed on a free transfer from Leeds.
Benjamin Sesko (shin) and Mason Mount (foot) face late fitness tests, but Tom Heaton (knock), Matthijs De Ligt (back) and Manuel Ugarte (knee) are sidelined.
When is Kick-Off?
Hull host Man Utd at MKM Stadium on Saturday 22 August at 12:30pm BST, live on TNT Sports 1 in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Hull have never beaten Man Utd in the Premier League (D2, L8).
- Man Utd are yet to lose at Hull in the Premier League (W4, D1).
- Hull are unbeaten in their last five competitive matches at home (W2, D3).
- Man Utd kept just a single clean sheet in pre-season (W2, D2, L2).
Prediction
Beginning the new season with an injury crisis is probably the worst start imaginable for any club let alone a newly-promoted team, which makes this an uphill battle for Hull who now need to be clinical and defend well with fans making the MKM Stadium a difficult place for Utd.
Man Utd meanwhile hadn’t exactly had winning consistency in pre-season but have recruited pretty well where needed, but there is no doubt that they’re still a work in progress to even get into the title mix, but they should be good for top five if Carrick can sort out his defence.
As for this match, I can see this being a pretty routine win for United but Hull won’t make it easy with their direct counter-attacking tactics.
Prediction: Hull 0-2 Man Utd