Hull City

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Championship promotion-chasing Hull City will look to continue their impressive run of form when they welcome a faltering Stoke City on New Year's Day (15:00 GMT kick-off).

The Tigers are fourth and only two points off the automatic promotion places after a five-game unbeaten run (W4 D1), including an impressive 1-0 win at Middlesbrough last time out.

The Potters have slipped to 10th, four points adrift of the top six, after just two wins from their past 10 games (D1 L7).

• Hull City have lost this exact fixture in each of the past four campaigns, failing to score in three of those defeats. The Tigers lost 2-1 at home to the Potters last season.

• Stoke City have only won more away games in the EFL against West Bromwich Albion (26) than Hull City (14 – level with Wolves).

• Hull's first league game of the year hasn't ended in a draw in any of the past 12 years (W6 L6), since a goalless draw with Blackpool on New Year's Day 2013.

• Stoke's games on New Year's Day in both 2024 (v Ipswich) and 2025 (v Burnley) ended goalless = only three teams have ever had three consecutive games on 1 January end 0-0 in the EFL: Hull City (1972-1977), Stoke City (1972-1977) and Hereford United (1994-2008).

• Against no side has Hull City's Matt Crooks scored more goals against in the EFL than Stoke City (5 - level with Bristol City).

Hull City head coach Sergej Jakirovic felt his team came close to defensive perfection as they won 1-0 at second-placed Middlesbrough.

The Tigers head coach, who also gave an injury update on Mohamed Belloumi, told BBC Radio Humberside:"We were almost perfect in the defensive phase because we knew Middlesbrough would have the ball and are really dangerous.

"They have the biggest possession [percentage] in this league, and that's the reason we changed our system today so we had control in the middle zone to try to direct them on the sides and then when they had a cross in our box we had control there.

"We were very good in this and when we used our chance through Darko [Gyabi]. At the end of the game I didn't feel we were struggling. They try to put you under pressure with crosses or shooting, but if we didn't stop it with the [outfield] players then Ivor [Pandur] made two saves.

"I cannot be unhappy today because we got three points in a very difficult place."

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Hull City manager Sergej Jakirovic criticised his players' performance as they missed the chance to go third in the Championship after a 2-2 draw at Sheffield Wednesday.

Goals from Mohamed Belloumi and Matt Crooks brought Hull level twice but they failed to find a winner, ending a three-match winning run.

"We played like it was Christmas today, not yesterday," Jokirovic told BBC Radio Humberside.

"We were very very poor in the first half, no control and very low energy. We made bad decisions in possession, but started to play after we conceded."

Jokirovic said his team did improve and was unhappy with the referee, who he claims failed to rule out Wednesday's second for offside.

"In the second half, we controlled much more and we had good possession. We created more.

"Their second goal was clearly offside; the referee was poor but my team was also poor. I cannot complain so much.

"I'm very disappointed. We can't change anything; we did everything in preparation. Psychologically, I knew it would be difficult because everyone was counting on three points."

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Sheffield Wednesday will aim to finish a difficult year at Hillsborough on a high as they entertain in-form Hull City on Friday (15:00 GMT).

The Owls' only win came on the road in September and they have not kept a clean sheet at home since December 2024.

They have picked up just two points from 11 games at Hillsborough this season to remain rock-bottom on -9 points, effectively 31 short of safety with 25 games remaining, such is their inferior goal difference.

The Tigers have won their past three games to climb to fourth, five points adrift of the automatic promotion places and with a three point lead over the play-off chasing pack.

• Sheffield Wednesday have won two of their past three league games against Hull (L1), as many as they had in their previous 12 (D4 L6).

• Hull won this exact fixture 1-0 last season but have never won consecutive away league games against Sheffield Wednesday before.

• Having won five consecutive Boxing Day league games between 2014 and 2018, Sheffield Wednesday have won just one of their past five (D2 L2). This is their first such game at home since a 3-0 win against Birmingham in 2015.

• Hull have won just one of their past seven Boxing Day league games (D2 L4), beating Preston 2-1 at Deepdale in 2018.

• Sheffield Wednesday haven't kept a single home league clean sheet in 2025 and have shipped 40 goals at Hillsborough this calendar year – only in 1957 have they conceded more in a year (42).

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Hull head coach Sergej Jakirovic said described his side's 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion as a "three big points".

The Tigers stayed firmly in touch with the play-off contenders with their third victory in a row to move up to fourth in the Championship, level on points with Ipswich Town and five adrift of Middlesbrough in the second automatic promotion spot.

"It was typical [of the Championship] because there were a thousand balls in the air and two thousand challenges. We struggled for the second ball, in the first half especially, he told BBC Radio Humberside.

"We started well but lost our balance and West Brom were better - they had two great situations to score a goal and then gave us a penalty.

"We controlled the second half much better and had a few good chances, but kept a clean sheet which is very important and got three big points. The red card also helped a lot, for sure.

Jakirovic also have his view on the sending off of Baggies' defender Alfie Gilchrist who was shown a red card after challenging Liam Millar with 15 minutes left.

"It was very harsh. I was a little bit surprised, because I was thinking it was a yellow card, but he pulled out a red."

West Bromwich Albion head coach Ryan Mason says he returns to Hull City on Saturday with "mixed emotions" as he reflects on the moment that ended his playing career nearly 10 years ago.

Mason suffered a fractured skull in a clash of heads with Chelsea's Gary Cahill during a Premier League match in January 2017 and, after major surgery, was forced to retired just over a year later at the age of only 25.

Now he is going back to the place where it happened in charge of a side for the first time and told BBC Radio WM it would be an emotional experience.

"There were some fond memories there even though it didn't end how I wanted it to, so I look back on it with mixed emotions," he said.

"The club were amazing. The doctor Mark Waller, he had a crucial part in saving my life. I still speak to him.

"The owners at the time were incredible. They gave me the time and opportunity to come back and play."

Despite a lot changing at Hull in the nine years since his injury, Mason said there would always be a bond with the club.

"It's been a long time - I retired at 25 - it's coming up to 10 years, they have a different owner, different manager and players," he added.

"I had an incident when I was representing that club so there will always be a connection with Hull.

"It's a painful period to look back on. I lost my career but my son was born in Hull on 20 December.

"It's made me a better person and made people around me better as well."

For the immediate future, Mason is now fully focused on putting any sentiment aside as he tries to engineer a first away win in the Championship since the start of October and prevent the current five-point gap to the play-off places getting any wider.

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Hull City head coach Sergej Jakirovic says that striker Oli McBurnie is ready to join the starting XI, but his selection will depend on tactics.

The former Scotland international started nine of the Tigers' opening 10 Championship games before missing the next eight with a calf injury and has been slowly making his comeback from the bench in the past two games.

However, fellow forward Kyle Joseph has found his form, scoring three goals across those matches to give Jakirovic a selection headache up front.

"He's [McBurnie] in good shape and everything is good," Jakirovic told BBC Radio Humberside.

"It's tactical issues so we will see, we will play with him or with Kyle."

McBurnie and Joseph have previously started games together and the Bosnian says that the return of forward Enis Destan may increase the chances of seeing the duo both in the starting line-up.

Destan is expected to make the squad for Saturday's game with West Brom (15:00 GMT) after his return to training following a two-game absence with a leg injury.

"It's a possibility," Jakirovic added.

"They can play together, especially now that we have Enis now, so we will see."

Meanwhile, the head coach "will see" whether midfielder Kasey Palmer is ready to return after missing two months with a knee problem.

Listen to the full interview with Jakirovic and more Hull City content on BBC Sounds.

Hull City will look to retain their place in the top six when they welcome West Bromwich Albion on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

The Tigers have found a rich vein of form to land them in sixth place but are only clear by one point.

Though the Baggies are trying to stabilise after a topsy-turvy season and will be seeking their first back-to-back wins since August.

• Hull have won just one of their last 11 league games against West Bromwich Albion (D2 L8), a 2-0 home win in March 2023.

• After losing four consecutive away league games against Hull between 1974 and 1987, West Brom have lost just four of their last 17 visits (W8 D5).

• Since the start of October, only league leaders Coventry (34) have won more points and won more games (11) than Hull in the Championship (25 points, 8 wins).

• Following their win against Sheffield United, West Brom will be aiming for consecutive Championship victories for just the second time under Ryan Mason. The previous instance came in their opening two matches of the 2025-26 league campaign (1-0 v Blackburn and 3-2 v Wrexham).

• Since the start of October, only Southampton's Adam Armstrong (9) has netted more Championship goals than Hull's Joe Gelhardt (8). However, no player has scored in more different matches than Gelhardt (8) in the division in this period.

"Massive credit to two clubs who certainly I didn't have on the list of being in the top six come the end of this season, making a really good go of it.

"It has just epitomised the league. There's just an openness to it and some of those clubs we didn't expect to see there, it's just great.

"It keeps it interesting, it's still wide open for those play-off places."

What's making Preston North End and Hull City surprise play-off contenders in the Championship?

The 72+ team are joined by new Bristol Rovers boss Steve Evans and Barnsley boxer Callum Simpson to dissect the surprise successes in the Championship so far, plus how the Tykes are faring in League One and how Evans feels about replacing pal Darrell Clarke at the Gas in League Two.

Listen to the full episode of 72+ on BBC Sounds.

Kyle Joseph hopes his new relaxed approach in front of goal will give Hull City boss Sergej Jakirovic a headache going forward.

The 24-year-old former Blackpool man doubled his goal tally for the season in the space of four days with the opener in the 2-0 midweek win over Wrexham before two early goals in Saturday's 3-1 victory at Millwall - the team his dad supports.

After ending a seven-match scoreless streak against Wrexham, Joseph told BBC Radio Humberside: "The last couple of games I've probably stopped worrying.

"I can't control what people's opinions of me are, all I can control is what I can do on the pitch.

"Being in the moment and staying in the zone has really helped me, I want to continue with that, taking it a game at a time."

The six points have taken the Tigers back into the Championship play-off positions and Joseph said: "It's a special win as [Millwall] have been flying.

"You can see the togetherness of the squad. It's a special group. Everyone is buying into it, pulling in the same direction, from top to bottom.

"It's so important to have than unity and togetherness. There's a really good feeling in the camp."

Joseph said a conversation with team-mate Oli McBurnie the day before the Millwall game had helped him.

"To have a player like Oli to learn off, there's so much I can squeeze out of him," he said.

"He's played La Liga, Championship and Premier League, he's been down there in the lower leagues too. He gives me ideas and solutions, I find that invaluable and it helps my game so much. He's an unbelievable player and human being."

With McBurnie scoring in his two appearances off the bench after injury, Jakirovic has a dilemma up front, and Joseph added: "All I can do is try to be in the manager's mind.

"I'll never kick my toys out of the pram for not being in the team, I want to play but if I don't, I don't sulk, I am a good teammate on the bench.

"I want to give the manager a headache and show I am ready to play."

Sam Ashoo
BBC Final Score reporter

Image source, PA Media

Hull fans were delighted to see Liam Millar named in the starting XI for the trip to Millwall and it quickly became clear why.

The winger caused problems all afternoon, finding space down the left and providing a perfect assist for Kyle Joseph's second goal.

However, Millar, who was already on a yellow card, was fortunate to stay on the pitch after kicking the ball away when a free-kick was awarded against him in the second half.

The referee gave the Canadian the benefit of the doubt, perhaps assuming he hadn't heard the whistle, though that felt generous.

His substitution a few minutes later was met, unsurprisingly, by loud boos from the home fans.

Regardless, if Hull are to mount a promotion push this season, Millar could and possibly should be a key part of it.

Image source, Getty Images

Hull City manager Sergej Jakirovic says striker Kyle Joseph "deserves everything" after he scored twice in the Tigers' 3-1 win at Millwall.

Joseph's brace came inside the first 15 minutes with Oli McBurnie adding a third after Aidomo Emakhu pulled a goal back for the hosts, who also had Femi Azeez sent off.

"Kyle is a hardworking player on the wing and up front," the Hull boss told BBC Radio Humberside.

"He is always playing for the team and the team likes him. You can see in every game that he tries to fulfil our expectation.

"He deserves everything."

Jakirovic said his side's control of set pieces was key to the win, which lifts Hull into the Championship top six.

"I'm very pleased with what I saw today. We had a slow start in the game, but when we started to win second balls and became dangerous in transition, we scored two great goals.

"It was key that we had control of set pieces, because they are a very tall team. I was pushing for a third goal at half time because at 1-0 or 2-0, if you concede the crowd can explode.

"We conceded when we had an extra man; when Oli scored the third, it was done. As a team, we were very, very good today."

Image source, EFL

Coventry City boss Frank Lampard has won his second successive Championship manager of the month award.

The Sky Blues boss oversaw maximum points with five successive wins in November with his side currently five points clear at the top of the table.

Lampard said: "We got some fantastic results throughout November and I would like to thank all the players, staff and everyone involved for their continued hard work.

"We have a great togetherness and team spirit here and we're all looking forward to the busy Christmas period and continuing our hard work."

Birmingham's Chris Davies, Tonda Eckert of Southampton and Derby boss John Eustace were also nominated for the award.

Coventry at the double again

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Once again Coventry have cause for a double celebration with striker Ellis Simms being named the player of the month, following hot on the heels of team-mate Brandon Thomas-Asante claiming the award in October.

The 24-year-old scored five goals in his three starts in November including a brace in each of the victories over Middlesbrough and Charlton, taking his tally to eight in all competitions so far this season.

"This was only possible because of my team-mates and the staff pushing standards every day," said Simms.

"Individual awards come from team performances, and the results we've had make this extra special.

"I'll take the confidence from it and keep giving everything for the club and the fans."

Simms beat strikers Carlton Morris (Derby) and Joe Gelhardt (Hull City) plus Birmingham full-back Alex Cochrane to the award.