The Tigers will be desperate to return to winning ways against the Deepdale outfit
Hull City head coach Sergej Jakirovic must decide whether or not to bring Semi Ajayi straight back into his starting XI for Tuesday night’s clash with Preston North End at the MKM Stadium.
Ajayi has not played since the opening day stalemate at Coventry City and his absence has coincided with some major defensive issues for the Tigers, who have conceded 17 goals in the seven league and cup games since, leaving the boss with big concerns.
His commanding presence in the heart of the back four has been a real miss for City, but after returning to training in the past couple of weeks, the Nigerian international is fit and available for selection, though Matt Crooks isn’t ready to come back.
Jakirovic must surely be tempted to bring back Ajayi in a bid to stem the flow of goals which has hampered the Tigers’ progress in the early weeks of the season.
Should the ex-West Brom star come straight back into the starting XI, it’s expected he would replace John Egan alongside Charlie Hughes in the heart of the back four.
Jakirovic has hinted at making a couple of changes to tackle the Lilywhites, and that could come out wide. The injured Mohamed Belloumi missed Saturday’s defeat at Watford and was replaced by defender Cody Drameh. Despite that being a more pragmatic move, Drameh created the goal for Oli McBurnie and should have made it 2-0 before half-time.
At home, however, Jakirovic will almost certainly opt to go a little more front-footed, especially out wide, though he’s unable to call upon Joel Ndala or Belloumi, so David Akintola could return to the side after an inconsistent display off the bench at Vicarage Road.
After almost a year out, Liam Millar was named on the bench on Saturday, and he’s likely to get some minutes against North End, with Jakirovic keen to get him on the pitch.
Predicted starting XI: Pandur, Giles, Hughes, Ajayi, Coyle, Lundstram, Hadziahmetovic, Gelhardt, Joseph, Akintola, McBurnie.
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