Hull City travel to Bournemouth tomorrow afternoon with the teams separated by just one point in the Premier League table.
Bournemouth midfielder Jack Wilshere
Mike Phelan sees his Hull City side head to Bournemouth this weekend in his first game permanently in charge of the club. The former Manchester United man has been given the title of ‘head coach’, rather than ‘manager’, to the concern of some supporters, but most are at least relieved to have tied down the 54-year-old, and the Hull City players themselves will be delighted that the matter has seemingly been resolved.
There are no such underlying concerns at Bournemouth, with Eddie Howe’s team not yet showing any signs of suffering from so-called ‘second season syndrome’. The Cherries drew 2-2 away at Watford in their last game before the international break, giving them a return of 8 points from their first 7 league games.
Both teams have the potential to mix things up ahead of tomorrow’s game. Bournemouth will have Harry Arter available for selection, having missed out over the international break through injury. Eddie Howe could switch to a 4-4-2 and bring in Joshua King, who scored off the bench against Watford, but he seems more likely to stick with a 4-5-1. Mike Phelan will be without both Michael Dawson and Dieumerci Mbokani, but Ahmed Elmohamady returns from his one game suspension.
Ahmed Elmohamady returns for Hull City
The Tigers have now lost their last three league games, and although they were against Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea, Mike Phelan and his team will be looking to right the wrong’s of their woeful second half showing against Chelsea in the clubs last game prior to the international break. After holding Antonio Conte’s side in the first half, Hull seemed to capitulate in the second, struggling to string more than three passes together and defending clumsily.
Bournemouth continue to grow under Eddie Howe, and are adapting better and better to the current 4-5-1 system in place as each game passes. Unusually for the Cherries though, they will have to contest with a weight of expectation tomorrow afternoon. So often the underdogs in the last couple of years, there will be an expectation from some home supporters of victory tomorrow, and how they deal with that could prove decisive.
Hull City may have struggled against the big boys this season, but victories over Leicester and Swansea, twinned with a draw against Burnley, shows they certainly shouldn’t be underestimated when facing teams with more modest squads and budgets.
Bournemouth continue to grow under Eddie Howe
We expect Bournemouth to be unchanged from the XI that started against Watford two weeks ago. Harry Arter appears to be fully fit and should start with no problems against Hull. Switching to a 4-4-2 would allow the Cherries to start Joshua King and have a greater threat in behind, but it would most likely mean Jack Wilshere having to drop out the team, and would give Hull an extra man in the middle of the park.
Mike Phelan has a real selection dilemma. Tom Huddlestone was dropped for Chelsea’s visit to the KCOM Stadium, where the Tigers looked disjointed in the second half, particularly struggling to keep hold of the ball. Yet it is difficult to see who would drop out of midfield, with Mason, Clucas and Henriksen all having good reason to start.
One option would be moving away from the 4-3-3/4-5-1 that Hull have adopted all season, and going to something like a 3-5-1-1. Robert Snodgrass is the reason why doing so would be such an issue for Mike Phelan. The Tigers best attacking threat this season, such a setup would see him either miss out, or forced into an unnatural central position far better suited to Markus Henriksen. For this reason, Phelan is most likely to stick with the same formation he has played in every game so far this campaign, simply with Elmohamady coming in for Meyler and Hernandes for Mbokani.
Predicted Bournemouth starting XI
Predicted Hull City starting XI
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