City are in desperate need of a morale-boosting home victory
Sergej Jakirovic wants to see a response from his side this weekend (Image: Cody Froggatt/PA Wire)
Hull City head coach Sergej Jakirovic knows full well the danger Sheffield Wednesday pose to the Tigers’ promotion bid, having already experienced it this season.
City come into the game on the back of three defeats in their last four games and were well beaten last time out at a West Brom side who were without a win in 2026. That result, coupled with back-to-back wins for Southampton, has seen the Tigers’ nine-point cushion to seventh cut to just three with eight games left.
Wednesday may already have been relegated with only one win all season, and just one point from a possible 45, but City’s struggles were clear on Boxing Day when they twice had to battle back from a goal down to salvage a draw at Hillsborough.
While Wednesday haven’t won since September, there haven’t been too many times where they’ve been thrashed and are certainly making life difficult for their opposition, and that will be the case again on Saturday at the MKM Stadium.
And at home, City’s form so far in 2026 has been patchy with four league defeats and only two victories, which will only add to the sense of nervousness if things don’t go so well.
To overcome a plucky Wednesday side, Jakirovic says his side will have to be an awful lot better than they were at West Brom last weekend, where he’s revealed their running stats were well below-par.
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“Our performance was not so good, because from the first minute we were lacking energy and intensity,” the Croatian told Hull Live. “When you look at the GPS (data) after the game, it’s not so good. Maybe it’s about too many games on the road, but this is also about the quality of the opponent, because, as I said, this is not a real picture of West Bromwich. They’re struggling, but this is such a season for them. We have to improve a lot for Saturday.
“It’s very competitive, we know that, and it’s very tight. We have to look at just ourselves because we have everything in our hands. We have a game at home, so we must do everything to take three points.
“It will not be easy because I have watched Sheffield Wednesday in their last three games and they look much more organised, much more aggressive, they know what they are doing. Of course, when you see the table, it looks like an easy game but there is no easy game in the Championship. We must be fully focused and concentrated on this game.
“They are dangerous. It seems that they are even better now because nobody beats them comfortably. It’s 1-0, 1-1, 2-1, just Swansea 4-0, but that was in the last 15 minutes. They have their own ambitious individuals. They were relegated, but they’re trying to prove themselves on the pitch, and they will do everything to make it difficult for us.”
The game will also see the return of winger Joel Ndala, who left the MKM Stadium in January to move to Hillsborough in the hope of securing more games, but he’s started only twice.
“Of course, like Joel (Ndala). He needs the minutes. Now he can see as well that he played much more in our team, which is fighting for the play-offs, than in Sheffield Wednesday,” Jakirovic said. of the ex-Tigers loanee. “He must prove everything on the pitch, and for him, the decision was easy because he may have wanted to play more minutes, but OK. The other players are trying to improve. There are also young players who are very interesting. It will be a difficult game if we are not at one hundred per cent.
“We must do everything to win the game because if, for example, Sheffield Wednesday play against other opponents in the play-offs, it will be obvious that they will win the game. It’s not underestimating anybody because I have huge respect for a club like Sheffield Wednesday, because this is a big club, big tradition, history, everything. We must approach this game like we’re playing for first place.
“Everybody can count on three points, but it’s not so easy. We must deserve everything on the pitch and prove everything on the pitch. We have everything in our hands, so we must win the game and take the three points and then go on holiday for a little bit”.
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