The Tigers head to North Wales for the first time in two decades, looking to end cup hoodoo
Head coach Sergej Jakirovic will make changes to his Hull City side as the Tigers look to enjoy a rare night of cup success against a club who have enjoyed plenty of highs in recent years.
The Tigers face Wrexham, looking to build on their deserved opening day stalemate at Coventry City on Saturday, and in the process, get past the first round of the Carabao Cup for the first time in five years.
Wrexham’s sensational journey in recent seasons has seen them secure three promotions on the spin to go from the National League to the Championship under the guidance of ex-City boss Phil Parkinson, who has clocked up 1,000 games as a manager during the process.
After losing 2-1 in dramatic fashion in their opener at Southampton on Saturday, the hosts will be keen for a response in their opening home game of the campaign.
Jakirovic handed debuts to Semi Ajayi and Joel Ndala from the start, before bringing on Oliver McBurnie and Joe Gelhardt late on in the second half against Frank Lampard’s Sky Blues.
Gelhardt and McBurnie, in particular, are desperate for minutes, having only arrived in the days before the campaign curtain raiser, so are almost certain to step up their fitness in North Wales, with former loanee Gelhardt likely to be handed a second full debut.
There could also be debuts for Dillon Phillips and Akin Famewo, though Jakirovic is keen to not disrupt things too much, given his desire to win the game in what will be an interesting assignment for the Tigers on their first competitive visit to the Racecourse since 2005
“Every game for me this season will be exciting because it’s my first time, especially in the away games. It’s very interesting because they have a winning mentality for sure,” the City boss told Hull Live on the eve of the cup contest.
“They brought a lot of new players, so I think they also need the time to fix everything and, of course, I expect a tough game because it’s their first official game at their stadium (since promotion), so it will be for tough for sure, but OK, we also have our own plans and we will see what will happen.
“We will have changes because of the energy, because of everything. You see their body language, they are still tired (from Coventry), but this is normal on the second day after the game. It’s always like this, but it’s a 7:45pm (kick-off), so we have enough time to recover and be ready for the game for sure.
“We’ll see tomorrow, we will choose 11 guys who are able to play good football with good energy, intensity, of course, and I would like to see that we score the goals, so this is the main target for us.”
Skipper Lewie Coyle is not yet ready to return, while Enis Destan continues to recover from a minor knee injury, which has hampered him since he arrived from Trabzonspor last month, and Semi Ajayi will likely miss out as a precaution over a hamstring complaint with John Egan coming in and Dillon Phillips will start in goal.
“We will see on Thursday, but if not, then next week. He is not completely with the group yet,” the Bosnian said of Coyle, before going on to explain about Destan’s situation amid a knee complaint.
“He has a problem with the MSL, it’s like medial collateral, so it’s very painful. He’s right-footed, and when he kicks the ball, passes the ball or kicks it with full power, then it’s painful.
“We have decided to give him a few more days to recover and then, with the doctors, we will decide when he will be on the pitch again.”
The Tigers boss is also keen to see City win the game in normal time, owing to what he says is a poor record on penalties in cup competitions, though he says his players have practised, just in case.
“I must say that tomorrow, I want us to win in the normal 90 minutes time because I never win on penalties. Never, never, so I must break the curse again.
“Yes, today (practised on Monday), but I don’t like this because it’s not the same environment. It depends on who will be on the pitch after the final whistle. We will choose five players and then we will see, but it’s not easy because the goal is so small.”
Jakirovic is keen to try to change City’s fortunes in both cup competitions this season. City haven’t progressed past the first round since beating Leeds United on penalties at Elland Road at the beginning of their League One title-winning campaign in 2020/2021.
“We must break the curse again about the second round. I don’t know how many years (five), but we never get through the second round, so it’s a good motivation for us as well.”
The Tigers boss is also aware of the success surrounding Wrexham and the backing of Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds following their Disney documentary, and says he finds the latter amusing.
“I didn’t watch this documentary,” he continued. “I need to watch it. It’s three hours (to Wrexham) on the coach, so I will watch it. I know who the owner is; he’s a famous actor. I like him, by the way. He’s a very funny guy.
“It’s a great success because you promote every year, and this is a serious job, and it’s not easy to do that. Congratulations one more time for that.”
Here at Hull Live, we are dedicated to bringing you the best Hull City coverage and analysis. Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.