The Tigers host Liam Rosenior’s Blues in front of the TV cameras on Friday evening
Will Oli McBurnie start against Chelsea?(Image: Nigel French/PA Wire)
Hull City head coach Sergej Jakirovic faces a difficult selection dilemma for Friday night’s FA Cup meeting with Chelsea at the MKM Stadium, as he looks to strike the right balance.
City come into the game on the back of a frustrating 3-2 home defeat by Bristol City at the weekend, and don’t play again until QPR visit the MKM Stadium on Saturday week.
Jakirovic may well be caught in two minds when it comes to his selection, given the need to give some key players a well-earned rest, coupled with a desire to put on a good show and try to beat the Premier League outfit.
Naturally, given the size of the occasion and interest in the contest, all of his first-team players will want to play, and that’s something he must wrestle with, given the priority remains on securing a place in the Championship’s top six over the remaining 15 games.
January signings Paddy McNair, Kieran Dowell, Yu Hirakawa and Lewis Koumas will all be pushing for starts as they continue to build their fitness for the remaining weeks, while Jakirovic must decide whether or not to keep Ryan Giles in the starting XI after he played 45 minutes in his comeback from a hamstring injury last weekend.
The likes of Lewie Coyle, John Egan, Charlie Hughes, Regan Slater and Oli McBurnie have all played a lot of football recently, so Jakirovic could use it as an opportunity to freshen things up and recharge batteries ahead of a mammoth spell coming up later this month and into March.
Hughes has been nursing a groin issue in recent weeks, so he will likely be rested, while Toby Collyer’s hopes of making a full debut have been hit by a hamstring problem he picked up in training. Dillon Phillips will likely start in goal and continue his run of playing in the cup competitions this season. Cody Drameh is also expected back and could start.
That will be his biggest task, considering all those factors and then trying to pick a team capable of competing with a side battling for a Champions League place in the Premier League.
City’s predicted XI: Phillips, Jacob, Egan, McNair, Coyle, Lundstram, Amir, Hirakawa, Koumas, Millar, McBurnie.
Have your say on what the starting line-up should be using the slider below….
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