Stoke City v Hull City Preview Stoke City v Hull City Preview

ymakerpi8d

The rags to (moderate) riches story of Hull City Football Club is one that has barely been out of the pre s in recent weeks, its hard not to be familiar with it by now, so in this section where I would normally give a description of a clubs recent history I will give only the briefest overview. Six years ago Hull were bottom of the Football League, three promotions later theyre in the Premier League.  Hulls switch from the decrepit Boothferry Park to the modern KC Stadium is symbolic of their improved fortunes in recent years. Even more remarkable than their ascent of the footballing pyramid is the excellent way in which Hull have coped with life in the top flight to date.  Roberto Alomar Jersey Despite taking just two points from their last five games, the Tigers still sit sixth in the table, and led by their talisman, attacking midfielder Geovanni reached as high as fourth a few weeks back, beating the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham and West Ham (amongst several others) on the way. Hull play a high tempoattacking game, with a 4:4:2 formation that is verging on a 4:3:3, with Geovanni sitting just behind potent strike duo Daniel Cousin and Marlon King. They have won plaudits in the media this season for their fast attacking game, while Stoke have been criticised for hitting the ball long too often. It is interesting to note then, that Hull are the only team at present in the Premier League to have played more long balls than Stoke. Hull will come to Stoke looking to rediscover their early season form which has eluded them at late, while Stoke will hope, and maybe expect to continue a good run of form, particularly at the Britannia  Trey Mancini Jersey Stadium, and record a sixth straight home win. Unlike Stokes encounter with West Brom last Saturday, this time round theres no doubt both sides will be there to go for a win, which should make for an exciting game infront of a sell-out crowd. Given Hulls faltering form of late though, and our recent home record, Id  Dan Straily Jersey be most disappointed if we lost tomorrow, and hope we will be able to edge out Hull and close the gap behind them to just three points.Key Battles:Ricardo Fuller v Michael TurnerFuller will come straight back into the Stoke side after mi sing the West Brom game with a suspension. Stoke fans will be hoping he is able to get the better of Hulls defensive rock Turner, whoposes a real threat from attacking set pieces in the air, and add to his tally of five league goals this season. Salif Diao v GeovanniBrazilian Geovanni is undoubtedly Hulls best player, skillful and dangerous withlong shots it is vital that he is given little time on the ball. With Geovanni playing just behind the Hull attack, he will fall into battle with Diao sitting just in front of the Stoke defence. Diao, typically a strong tackler will need to be sharp for this one. Which player comes out on top of this one is likely to have a big effect on the outcome of the match Keegan Akin Jersey . Hull squad:Goalkeepers:Boaz Myhill (26), Tony Warner (34), Matt Duke (31), Tom Woodhead (18), Mark Oxley (18)Defenders:Andy Dawson (30), Michael Turner (25), Paul McShane (22), Sam Ricketts (27), Kamil Zayatte (23), Bernard Mendy (27), Wayne Brown (31), Nathan Doyle (21), Anthony Gardner (28), Liam Cooper (17), Matt Plummer (19)Midfielders:Geovanni (28), Ian Ashbee (32), George Boateng (33), Peter Halmosi (29), Dean Marney (24), Ryan France (28), Bryan Hughes (32), Stelios Giannakopoulos (34), Will Atkinson (20), James Bennett (20)Forwards:Marlon King (28), Daniel Cousin (31), Caleb Folan (26), Richard Garcia (27), Dean Winda s (39), Craig Fagan (26), Nick Barmby (34), Nicky Featherstone (20)Star Man: Geovanni Geovanni, or Geovanni Deiberson de Silva Maurcio Gmez to be precise has been Hulls stand out player this season after joining on a free transfer from Manchester City, where he failed to make a huge impact, aside from scoring the winning goal in the Manchester derby last August, and has already scored six times in the league for Hull, including screamers at Arsenal and Tottenham. The 28 year old attacking midfielder once cost Barcelona 18 million Euros and has also spent time at Benfica in Portugal, Club Amrica in Mexico and Cruzeiro in his native Brazil. He has one cap for Brazil, gained seven years ago.Comparative club stats: Stoke HullLeague Position 14th6thGames Played 17 15Total Record (W,D,L)7,3,7 6,4,5Home Record (W,D,L) 5,1,2 2,2,3Away Record (W,D,L) 1,2,5 4,2,2Goals Scored 21 22Goals Conceded28 25Top Scorers Fuller (5), Sidibe (3)Geovanni (6), Turner, King, Cousin (3)Disciplinary (Y,R) 29,1 24,0A dazzling Hull  Caleb Joseph Jersey kit from years gone by