City host the in-form Canaries knowing they’re desperate for a first win since the end of March
Hull City head coach Sergej Jakirovic faces his biggest team selection of the campaign so far (Image: Sean Troup/Shutterstock)
Hull City have one final chance to seal their place in the Championship’s top six when they host Norwich City in their final outing of the regular season.
For Sergej Jakirovic, it’s arguably his biggest team selection of the season as he looks to find the magic touch that will end City’s six-game winless run and give them the best possible chance of leapfrogging Wrexham.
Saturday’s defeat at Charlton Athletic left City increasingly vulnerable, but Wrexham’s defeat 24 hours later restored hope. Jakirovic will be forced into at least one change to his starting XI given the desperate news about Eliot Matazo, who damaged his second ACL at The Valley and is now sidelined for the foreseeable future.
His absence could see the return to the starting line-up for Regan Slater, who has only recently returned from an ankle injury and wasn’t deemed fit enough to start at The Valley last week.
Charlie Hughes is also pushing for a return, and so too is Kyle Joseph. Hughes has been nursing a hernia issue in recent weeks and hasn’t started since the draw at Oxford United on Good Friday, but could come back into the team in place of Semi Ajayi, who was withdrawn at half-time last weekend.
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Joseph’s energy has been missed and so he could come into the starting line-up, but to bring him back would mean Jakirovic would need to leave out one of Liam Millar or Mo Belloumi. Millar has been one of City’s form players over the past few games, while Belloumi is arguably the Tigers’ biggest creative threat.
Jakirovic must also decide whether to start 14-goal Joe Gelhardt either in the number 10 or out wide, though the latter would feel unlikely given the options he has at his disposal.
Yu Hirakawa had been nursing an ankle issue he picked up in training on Monday, but has returned to training and will almost certainly start on the bench.
City’s predicted XI: Pandur, Giles, Hughes, Egan, Coyle (c), Slater, Lundstram, Joseph, Crooks, Belloumi, McBurnie.
Have your say on what the starting line-up should be…