City have plenty of fitness concerns going into the game against the Addicks
Hull City boss Sergej Jakirovic will be forced to assess his squad ahead of Saturday’s home meeting with Charlton Athletic as they go in search of a fourth straight win for the first time since November 2021. The Tigers squad has no shortage of walking wounded after two big wins in the past few days over Birmingham City and Leicester City. Star striker Oli McBurnie is not expected to be involved for the second game on the spin, but Ryan Giles, Lewie Coyle and David Akintola are OK to feature, and Hull will still be without a host of first-team players, including John Lundstram and Mo Belloumi.
Giles limped off in the second half of Tuesday night’s impressive display against the Foxes, while Akintola had a back complaint in the warm-up, and though he was named on the bench, along with Lewie Coyle, he was unlikely to be risked.
Having Giles fit and available is crucial for City, given his superb form this season, and he’ll be hoping to add to his collection of assists, which rose to six on Tuesday when his pinpoint cross found Joe Gelhardt to slam in at the back post.
Elsewhere, Jakirovic must decide whether to start Liam Millar for the second time in the space of a few days. Millar delivered an electric display, especially in the first half against the Foxes. His sublime finish after six minutes got City on their way to a deserved victory, and his overall performance in his first start in almost 12 months was superb.
With added time, Millar played over 100 minutes on Tuesday night and it’s perhaps unlikely he’ll start a second game in the space of a few days, so Jakirovic may opt to start Joel Ndala and keep Millar back for an impactful display off the bench.
Jakirovic must also decide whether Semi Ajayi can go again from the start. The Nigerian was superb on Tuesday but he could be rested and John Egan brought back in alongside Charlie Hughes.
City’s predicted starting XI: Pandur, Giles, Hughes, Ajayi, Drameh, Amir, Slater, Ndala, Crooks, Gelhardt, Joseph.
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