After their humiliation against Sunderland, injury-struck Hull City somehow managed to hold Swansea City at home this weekend courtesy of some brilliant goalkeeping by Marshall and atrocious finishing by West Bromwich Albion that still keeps them in the top of the relegation zone.
But Mike Phelan’s next opponent is a difficult one to deal with and given their current run of form in the EFL Cup, they are surely the firm favourites to overthrow the Tigers in the KSOM Stadium.
Although Newcastle United were handed their first defeat in the last 8 games in the Championship this weekend, it was majorly due to Benitez resting key players for their midweek fixture against Hull City.
Hull City’s EFL Cup opponents so far have been easy barring Stoke City and the fact that Mike Phelan has used three different formations for the three games, we expect him to continue the trend. Given the fact that Newcastle have scored a whopping 36 goals so far and 10 alone in their 3 EFL Cup matches, we expect Hull to remain pretty beefed up at the back.
Here is our predicted Hull City Lineup which will face Newcastle United for the EFL Cup.
Defence
Hull produced a huge disappointment this season when they defeated Southampton. And surprisingly, Phelan hasn’t repeated that setup since then, despite the team failing to win even once after that. Even against West Brom, they salvaged an equaliser in the final quarter of the game and depended heavily on the opponent’s rusty finishing.
The Magpies have a similar flair in attacking and in the defence like the Saints. They have largely kept possession this season and have dominated the games. To come out with something against Benitez would need something special and we expect Phelan to use his most successful setup yet this season.
Left midfield Samuel Clucas is expected to start wide on the left flank with Ahmed Elmohamady on the farthest right side. Captain Michael Dawson, who got a goal for his team against West Brom, will take his position at the heart of the defence pairing with Harry Maguire and Curtis Davies. Maguire was rested against West Brom and will be fresh for the game.
