Hull City vs. Cardiff – KC Stadium, Hull.
The Teams
Hull City
It’s the final game of the season for all clubs in the nPower
Championship, and for Hull City, this is what it has all boiled down to - a home
tie against the league champions, Cardiff City.
This isn’t what Hull City would have wanted, with the team being six points ahead of automatic promotion chasers Watford in mid-April. It was expected that Hull would have cemented second position with just another win in one of their last three ties, but this hasn’t happened and the pressure is now on for Steve Bruce’s Tigers to get a result at the KC Stadium.
This isn’t what Hull City would have wanted, with the team being six points ahead of automatic promotion chasers Watford in mid-April. It was expected that Hull would have cemented second position with just another win in one of their last three ties, but this hasn’t happened and the pressure is now on for Steve Bruce’s Tigers to get a result at the KC Stadium.
As it stands, Hull City are currently sitting in second place in the nPower championship with 78 points but only one point from their
last three games against Championship strugglers Wolves, Barnsley and already
relegated Bristol City has seen them fail to secure promotion before the final
day of the season.
Coming into this game, Hull City only have one doubt and that is striker Matty Fryatt who has undergone Achilles' tendon surgery after an injury he picked up in October 2012 and he is not expected to be near the starting 11 for this clash against the Bluebirds. Despite making a couple of cameo appearances in recent games. It is likely he will again feature on the bench for this tie.
The concern amongst Tigers fans should be the pressure of the occasion. Recent form has shown that with so much at stake, so much can go terribly wrong and against a dominant Cardiff City side, collapsing is something Hull City cannot afford to do.
Coming into this game, Hull City only have one doubt and that is striker Matty Fryatt who has undergone Achilles' tendon surgery after an injury he picked up in October 2012 and he is not expected to be near the starting 11 for this clash against the Bluebirds. Despite making a couple of cameo appearances in recent games. It is likely he will again feature on the bench for this tie.
The concern amongst Tigers fans should be the pressure of the occasion. Recent form has shown that with so much at stake, so much can go terribly wrong and against a dominant Cardiff City side, collapsing is something Hull City cannot afford to do.
Last 5 Games:
Hull City’s last five games have seen them pick up seven points out
of a possible 15, with six of them points coming from a 2-1 away win at Ipswich
Town and a 1-0 home win against out-of-form Middlesbrough.
As previously
mentioned, the last three games is where Hull really have needed to pick up
points, but have failed to do so, with the Tigers only scoring three goals in their
last six games whilst conceding five.
None of those Hull goals have come from the previous three matches having lost 1-0 to Wolves on the 16th April, drawn 0-0 at home to relegated Bristol City, and in the penultimate game of the season, being defeated 2-0 by Barnsley, who recorded their first win in six at Oakwell.
None of those Hull goals have come from the previous three matches having lost 1-0 to Wolves on the 16th April, drawn 0-0 at home to relegated Bristol City, and in the penultimate game of the season, being defeated 2-0 by Barnsley, who recorded their first win in six at Oakwell.
Hull are really going to need to put recent results behind them and get
back to their old ways if they want to confirm their place in the Premier
League for the 2013/14 season.
06.04.2013
– Hull City 1-0 Middlesbrough
13.04.2013
– Ipswich Town 1-2 Hull City
16.04.2013
– Wolverhampton 1-0 Hull City
19.04.2013
– Hull City 0-0 Bristol City
27.04.2013
– Barnsley 2-0 Hull City
One to
Watch:
The one to watch out for in this game, is the
versatile George Boyd who has the ability to change games in a matter of
seconds with his vision and ability to see what others players do not.
He is
also a tidy finisher, having notched four goals in his 12 appearances for the
Tigers and always seems a constant threat when bearing down on goal.
With Cardiff City already league champions, it could be the game for the Scotland international to really go all guns blazing at the Bluebirds defence, which he has already proven he can do against defences in the league.
With the support of attacking midfielder Robbie Brady, and strike partner Jay Simpson, I believe this is the game Boyd will really show his class and finish his season off in style.
With Cardiff City already league champions, it could be the game for the Scotland international to really go all guns blazing at the Bluebirds defence, which he has already proven he can do against defences in the league.
With the support of attacking midfielder Robbie Brady, and strike partner Jay Simpson, I believe this is the game Boyd will really show his class and finish his season off in style.
Cardiff City
If there were four words to describe the final day of the
season for football fans around the country, they would be nerve-wracking,
tense, upsetting and joyous.
The latter would be an understatement for the fans of Cardiff City, who will no doubt be celebrating all the way through this 90 minutes at the KC Stadium and back home in Cardiff. They can sit back, relax, and enjoy the game ahead as they have already seen their team deservedly seal the league title and confirm their place alongside the big boys in the Barclays Premier League for the 2013/14 season.
The latter would be an understatement for the fans of Cardiff City, who will no doubt be celebrating all the way through this 90 minutes at the KC Stadium and back home in Cardiff. They can sit back, relax, and enjoy the game ahead as they have already seen their team deservedly seal the league title and confirm their place alongside the big boys in the Barclays Premier League for the 2013/14 season.
Cardiff City top the nPower Championship table with 86
points, eight points ahead of Saturday’s opponents, Hull City, and haven’t looked
like dropping off top spot all season, and consistency has without doubt been
the key for the Bluebirds.
Likewise with Hull, Cardiff haven’t had that one single goalscorer to lead the way and carry the rest of the team, instead they are scoring goals from all over the field, mainly from wing positions with Peter Whittingham on eight goals for the season, Craig Noone on seven goals and Fraizer Campbell and Joe Mason with 11 goals between them.
Likewise with Hull, Cardiff haven’t had that one single goalscorer to lead the way and carry the rest of the team, instead they are scoring goals from all over the field, mainly from wing positions with Peter Whittingham on eight goals for the season, Craig Noone on seven goals and Fraizer Campbell and Joe Mason with 11 goals between them.
Before this game, Cardiff City have no injury worries and a
clean bill of health within the whole squad so Malky Mackay is spoilt for
choice. He could go one of two ways; go with his first team that has deservedly
won them the league title, or mix up fringe players with the youngsters to give
them vital experience.
Last 5
Games
Cardiff fans have seen one win in their last five games, which
has also seen the Bluebirds take a point on three separate occasions through
April, with home draws against Bolton, Charlton and Barnsley and an away draw
at Burnley; who managed to snatch a point with the last kick of the game.
The win was picked up in a dominant 3-0 win at the Cardiff City Stadium against late play-off chasers, Nottingham Forest, thanks to a goal from Icelandic striker Heider Helguson and a second-half brace from towering front man Rudy Gestede in front of a stadium record attendance.
If the last five games and recent form is anything to go by, the Bluebirds would be in a very good position to take all three points at the KC Stadium but as we have seen in the Championship, form cannot guarantee wins and Hull City are certainly no pushovers.
The win was picked up in a dominant 3-0 win at the Cardiff City Stadium against late play-off chasers, Nottingham Forest, thanks to a goal from Icelandic striker Heider Helguson and a second-half brace from towering front man Rudy Gestede in front of a stadium record attendance.
If the last five games and recent form is anything to go by, the Bluebirds would be in a very good position to take all three points at the KC Stadium but as we have seen in the Championship, form cannot guarantee wins and Hull City are certainly no pushovers.
09.04.2013
– Cardiff 1-1 Barnsley
13.04.2013
– Cardiff 3-0 Nottingham Forest
16.04.2013
– Cardiff 0-0 Charlton
20.04.2013
– Burnley 1-1 Cardiff
27.04.2013
– Cardiff 1-1 Bolton
One to Watch:
For
me, the one to watch for Cardiff City has to be 24 year-old Craig Noone. The
ex-Brighton man signed for the Bluebirds for a fee of £1,000,000 on a four-year
deal, last summer. With 7 goals and 9 assists to his name for the season, Noone
has been one of Malky Mackay’s most effective signings since his arrival in
Wales and can be a constant threat when playing out wide with his dangerous
ball delivery, especially with Heider Helguson and Rudy Gestede just waiting to
pounce in the 6-yard box. If they can utilise the wing play for this game, I
believe they can be a real threat.
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