For the second time in three years, Hull City has been relegated from the English Premier league. Even though they managed to put in some good performances this season, especially after new managed Marco Silva came in, they couldn’t do enough to get out of the drop zone. This Sunday gives them the opportunity to put up a good performance for the fans, as they will be heading back to the Championship come next season. However, with Tottenham being their opponents, their prospects don’t look good.
HULL CITY AFC vs. TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS
3-Way: 1: HULL CITY AFC +600; X: +400 Draw; 2: TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS -167
Spread +1.5: HULL CITY AFC -137; TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS +135
Total +3: Over -112; Under +102
HULL CITY AFC
The tigers have had a disappointing return to the English Premier league. With ambitious signings, and a new talented manager at the helm, they couldn’t manage the results that were required for them to remain in the Premier League come next season. They made it look like they will survive after the appointment of Marco Silva resulted in some good home performances, but all their efforts went down the drain as they ended up in the last of relegation spots.
Sitting at 18th in the English Premier league table, the Tigers have managed to gather only 34 points, with 28 of them coming at home, which shows how strong they were at home when compared to their away from. Their current league record over the last 5 games hasn’t been the best; 1-1-3. They have been winless in their last three matches. A 4:0 thumping at Crystal Palace last weekend was preceded by a 0:2 home loss against Sunderland, who are also going to get relegated.
Be it scoring goals, or be it preventing them, Hull had a tough time doing the jobs. They scored only 36 goals, with 27 of those coming at the KC stadium. Their defense has been the worst in the league, with 73 goals conceded. Interestingly, only 28 had been conceded at their home stadium, which again given an indication of their strong home form. They managed to keep only 5 clean sheets.
In the current squad, no player has been very efficient in scoring goals. Oumar Niasse has scored 4 goals in the English Premier League, the same as Abel Hernandez, who also has 3 assists. January Loanee from Inter Andrea Ranocchia did his best to inspire the team with 2 goals and 2 assists to his name, but it didn’t have much effect on the fortunes of the team.
Hull have a long list of long Term Absentees, with William Keane, Ryan Mason, David Meyler, and Lazar Markovic all missing out. Harry Maguire, Abel Hernandez and Goebel Evandro, all are unsure cases as they are recovering from various muscle strains. On the positive note, Markus Henriksen is back in training after recovering from illness.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS
It is almost a pitiful site for this team. For the second year running, they have fallen just short of winning the English Premier League title, faltering at the end moments. In fact, their total points haul in the current season would have been enough to win the league in 8 of the season since the English Premier League was started. However, they effort of the team must be appreciated as they coped up with the injury to their Star striker Harry Kane twice this season, and have played arguably the best football in the league.
Sitting at 2nd of the English Premier League, the position that they will finish the season on, they have accumulated 83 points. 53 of those points have been earned at the White Hart Lane, the stadium that will no longer be theirs as the plans for a new stadium have already been taken place, just next to the existing stadium. Their current league record over the last 5 matches has been very good with 4 wins and just one defeat against West Ham that handed the Title to Chelsea. Their last match was a thumping win at Leicester, where Harry Kane scored 4 goals in the 1:6 win. Before this match was their final White Hart Lane clash, where they defeated Manchester United 2:1.
This Spurs have been totally efficient in all the areas of the game, be it scoring goals or preventing them. They have scored 79 goals, only 1 less than top scorers Chelsea, with 47 of those coming at White Hart Lane. Their defense has been near impenetrable at times, with only 25 goals conceded, and hence being the best defense in the league. Only 9 of those goals have come at home matches. They have also kept an astonishing 17 clean sheets.
As one would expect, after the last couple of seasons, their top scorer has been Harry Kane. Leading the Golden boot race with 26 goals, the Englishman has also provided 7 assists, thus highlighting his all round excellence as a centre Forward. After him, it is young Midfielder Dele Alli, who has scored an impressive 17 goals and 6 assists. Danish playmaker Christian Eriksen has been the creative fulcrum of the point, as he has 13 assists in the league, better only by De Bruyne of Man City. Their Captain Hugo Lloris has kept 15 clean sheets, and is on for the Golden Glove Race against Thibaut Courtois who has one more.
Erik Lamela, Harry Winks, and Cameron Carter Vickers are all out for the foreseeable period. Defender Kyle Walker and Captain Hugo Lloris are doubts for the match as they have suffered injuries in traingin and it remains to be seen whether they will be fit for the match or not. Full back Kieran Trippier is back in training and can be an option for Pochhettino.
HULL CITY AFC vs. TOTTENHAM HOTSPURS – Match Prediction:
This match has a Spurs victory written all over it, as Hull are low on morale due to their relegation and are already in a worse form than Tottenham. But as it is a home game for Hull, we can expect to see some sort of resistance from the Tigers, possibly even scoring a goal and keeping the visitors under the check in the first half. Therefore, I will go with both teams scoring goals, while the Spurs should, in the end, prevail and win all three points!!!
MY PICK: Both teams to score YES (-139)
