HULL CITY v WEST BROMWICH ALBION
Barclays Premier League
Saturday 6th December 2014, 3:00pm
KC Stadium

Alan Irvine’s struggling Baggies travel to the KC Stadium on Saturday to take on Steve Bruce’s struggling Tigers in what is surely a must-win game for Irvine.

With the club sliding deeper into trouble each match, and with fans’ dissent against Irvine seemingly growing by the day, the club’s hierarchy will be hoping for three points to relieve a little pressure on their beleaguered head coach.

Whilst Tuesday’s defeat against West Ham was possibly undeserved, it cannot be denied that it was another performance lacking in quality. The Baggies did make a bright start against the Hammers but after taking the lead through Craig Dawson they reverted to type and dropped deeper and deeper, inviting pressure from the visitors and ultimately conceding two goals.

Whilst Albion did press for an equaliser during the second half it has to be said that the Londoners coped pretty well with everything the Baggies threw at them and even the introduction of a five man attack failed to force a breakthrough.

One of the few positives to come out of the game was the Premier League debut of on-loan Porto winger Silvestre Varela. Rumours suggest that the Baggies’ coaching staff simply do not rate the Portuguese international although the official line is that he is not yet fully match fit. Either way, he showed more attacking intent in his 25 minute run-out than some of his team mates have shown in weeks. The travelling support will be hoping to see the winger start at the KC Stadium but it’s more likely he will again have to settle for a place on the bench.

Talk amongst supporters has also focussed on whether Northern Ireland defender Gareth McAuley should be recalled with the team currently shipping far too many goals. Whilst Craig Dawson has been fairly solid so far this season alongside the ever-impressive Joleon Lescott, one has to wonder if McAuley’s vast experience could help improve Albion’s leaky defence.

It’s sure to be a nervy afternoon at the KC and one has to feel that it’s vital that Albion don’t concede first. If the Baggies can get their noses in front, the home crowd are sure to become restless, and with Hull themselves in an awful run of form, the confidence of Steve Bruce’s men will soon ebb away.

ATWD Prediction: 1-1

MATCH NOTES

The game will be the 52nd competitive meeting between Albion and Hull City. The Baggies currently have a slight edge in terms of victories with 19 compared to The Tigers' 18.

The Baggies' last game on this date came in 2003 when an Hayden Mullins own goal helped Gary Megson's men to a 1-1 draw in a League Division One clash with West Ham at The Hawthorns. The club's last win on this date was in 1997 and also came in a League Division One encounter at The Hawthorns, the Baggies beating Stockport County 3-2 with goals from Richard Sneekes, Lee Hughes and Andy Hunt.

Hull's last game on December 6 came in 2008 when the Tigers beat Middlesbrough 2-1 in a Premier League clash at the KC Stadium.

Albion have yet to beat City in Premier League action, drawing two and losing two of the four games played.

Alan Irvine's men will travel to Hull hoping to avoid suffering five successive league defeats for the first since December 2010 / January 2011.

The Baggies have won just seven out of the 39 league games played over the last 12 months.

Albion's last six games: West Ham United (H) 1-2; Arsenal (H) 0-1; Chelsea (A) 0-2; Newcastle United (H) 0-2; Leicester City (A) 1-0; AFC Bournemouth (A, LC) 1-2.

City's last six games: Everton (A) 1-1; Manchester United (A) 0-3; Tottenham Hotspur (H) 1-2; Burnley (A) 0-1; Southampton (H) 0-1; Liverpool (A) 0-0.

TEAM NEWS

Albion

Alan Irvine is boosted by the return of Belgian left-back Sebastien Pocognoli and midfielder James Morrison for the crunch clash at Hull.

Baggies' captain Chris Brunt is out due to the hamstring injury he suffered in Tuesday's defeat at home to West Ham and he will join Claudio Yacob on the sidelines as the Argentine midfielder serves the final game of his three match suspension following his sending off at Chelsea.

Hull City

The Tigers will be without Senegal international Mohamed Diame after he suffered a recurrence of a knee injury in the midweek draw at Everton.

He will join long-term absentee Robert Snodgrass and the suspended Gaston Ramirez on the sidelines but City boss Steve Bruce is hopeful Abel Hernandez will return after he missed Hull's last two games due to the birth of his first child.

MATCH ODDS

Result

Albion Win: 2/1, Hull City Win: 7/5, Draw: 11/5.

First Goalscorer

Albion: Berahino 11/2, Anichebe 7/1, Ideye 8/1, Samaras 8/1, Sessegnon 8/1, Blanco 10/1, Dorrans 11/1, Varela 11/1, Gardner 12/1, Morrison 12/1, Dawson 20/1, Mulumbu 20/1, McAuley 25/1, Lescott 25/1, Baird 33/1.

Hull City: Jelavic 5/1, Hernandez 11/2, Ben Arfa 7/1, Sagbo 7/1, Aluko 8/1, Brady 9/1, Meyler 12/1, Robertson 16/1, Livermore 16/1, Davies 20/1, Quinn 20/1, Huddlestone 20/1, Elmohamady 25/1, Bruce 33/1, Maguire 33/1, Chester 33/1, Dawson 33/1, McShane 33/1.

No goalscorer: 15/2

www.williamhill.com

REFEREE

Michael Oliver (Northumberland)

Oliver refereed four Albion games last season - the 3-3 draw at home to Cardiff in March, the 1-1 draw at home to Everton in January, the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa at The Hawthorns in November and the 2-1 win at Manchester United in September.

The Northumberland official has taken charge of one Albion game this season - the 2-1 defeat at Liverpool in October.

Oliver took charge of two Hull games during 2013/14 - the 3-2 defeat at home to Manchester United on Boxing Day and the 1-0 defeat against Spurs at White Hart Lane in October.

The official has issued 59 yellow cards and one red in the 14 games he has officiated so far this season.

A full run down of Oliver's record when taking charge of Albion games can be found here

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets are now on general sale to Albion supporters priced at £16 adults, £10 over 65s and 16-22 years, £8 11-15 years and £5 for children aged ten and younger.

The Baggies have been allocated 2,400 tickets of which approximately 1,000 are left.

WEATHER FORECAST

Light cloud, 5°C.

FIXTURE HISTORY

LAST MEETING AT THE KC STADIUM

Hull City 2-0 Albion
Barclays Premier League
Saturday 22nd March 2014, 3:00pm

Hull City: McGregor; Elmohamady, Chester, Davies, Rosenior; Meyler, Huddlestone, Livermore; Aluko (Koren 61); Jelavic (Sagbo 84), Long (Quinn 78). Subs not used: Harper (gk), Figueroa, Bruce, Fryatt.

Goalscorers: Rosenior 32, Long 38.

Booked: Aluko 58 (foul), Meyler 72 (foul).

Albion: Foster; Reid, McAuley (Sinclair 79), Dawson, Ridgewell; Morrison, Mulumbu, Dorrans; Sessegnon; Anichebe (Berahino 76), Thievy (Vydra 61). Subs not used: Myhill (gk), D Daniels, O’Neil, Gera.

Attendance: 23,486.

Referee: Chris Foy (Merseyside).

Shane Long might think twice about dropping in on old friends in West Bromwich any time soon after masterminding his former club's retreat back into the relegation mire at a rain-lashed KC Stadium on Saturday. Long lifted his new club Hull to the brink of safety by winning the controversial first-half penalty which led to their opening goal, then turning in a Curtis Davies' flick-on seven minutes before the break to seal a solid 2-0 win for the Tigers. Long, who scored 22 goals in 87 appearances for West Brom before his surprise sale in January, was barracked mercilessly by the massed ranks of visiting fans for his part in the penalty incident, in which former team-mate Craig Dawson appeared to make minimal contact. Justice looked to have been done when Ben Foster guessed right to block Nikica Jelavic's penalty - only to flap the ball straight at a grateful Liam Rosenior, who headed home his first senior goal since October 2009. With Long also coming close when he lashed a long-range effort against the post in the second half, the increasingly nervous visitors were left to reflect on how much brighter their season might have been if the Ireland international had still been wearing blue and white stripes.

Those two goals in eight first-half minutes shattered the mood of cautious optimism which had hung over the Baggies after boss Pepe Mel eased some of the pressure with his first win in charge at Swansea last week. The opening period promised much, with Stephane Sessegnon firing a first minute effort over the bar before the visiting supporters staged a minute's silence in honour of their former striker Jeff Astle, whose family this week launched a 'Justice For Jeff' campaign, calling on the FA to launch research into the effects of heading leather footballs. The hosts belatedly stirred, Davies hitting a goal-bound effort in the 16th minute which clattered the legs of Youssouf Mulumbu, but the visitors were still threatening with swift counter-attacks and Graeme Dorrans came closer two minutes later with a swinging volley which was well saved by Tigers keeper Allan McGregor. Davies denied Victor Anichebe with a crucial saving challenge in the box as Mel's men continued to look more likely to break the deadlock, but the momentum changed in a 10-minute period starting just before the half-hour mark in which the Tigers wrested total control. First David Meyler sent a header from a Tom Huddlestone corner inches wide of Foster's upright before Long crumbled under Dawson's challenge in the box and won a penalty from referee Chris Foy. Video replays suggested the decision was harsh and justice looked set to be served after Jelavic's poor penalty, but Rosenior was in the right place at the right time to open the scoring. Huddlestone fired a long-range rocket eight minutes later which was superbly tipped over the bar by Foster, before Long made it 2-0 in the 38th minute when Jake Livermore's long ball into the box was flicked into his path by Davies.

In a much more low-key second period, Jelavic flashed a low shot just wide from a Sone Aluko cross but the hosts were warned against complacency when McGregor had to be alert to block Victor Anichebe's powerful header, Long almost increased his former club's torment on 67 minutes when he picked up a cross-field pass from substitute Robert Koren and curled a right-foot effort from long range which came back off Foster's right-hand post. As a filthy rainstorm closed in on the KC Stadium, Long's productive day against his former club came to a premature end in the 77th minute when he limped to the touchline and was replaced by Stephen Quinn. But by that point his job was done.

Sporting Life

CURRENT CONNECTIONS

Albion goalkeeper Boaz Myhill spent almost seven years at Hull before joining Albion in July 2010 in a £1.5million deal.

Curtis Davies joined Albion from Luton Town in August 2005 and spent two successful seasons at The Hawthorns before leaving to join Aston Villa. Spells at Leicester City (loan) and Birmingham City followed before he joined Hull in June 2013.

Paul McShane joined Albion from Manchester United in August 2006 as part of the deal that took Tomasz Kuszczak to Old Trafford. He spent just one season at The Hawthorns before leaving to join Sunderland. He moved on to Hull in August 2008.

PAST CONNECTIONS

Amongst the players to have turned out at various levels for both clubs are: Paul Anderson, Peter Barnes, Tony Brien, Neil Clement, Delroy Facey, Alan Fettis, Chris Hargreaves, Derek Hood, John Kaye, Kevin Kilbane, Robert Koren, Shane Long, Gordon Nisbet, Jay Simpson, Richard Sneekes, Gerry Summers and Jason van Blerk.

ALL-TIME LEAGUE & CUP RECORD VS HULL CITY