Hull City

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Hull City midfielder Kasey Palmer has had tests and a scan on an ankle injury - but head coach Ruben Selles is hopeful he could be fit to play against Swansea in the Championship on Saturday.

The Jamaica international was forced off in the second half of last weekend's 2-1 defeat by Coventry.

"On Monday the pain in the ankle was still there so he's had some tests, a scan and seen a specialist - we are hoping he could be back on the grass," Selles told BBC Radio Humberside.

"There's a suggestion there could be something more serious, that's why we need to be pretty sure what the next step is because sometimes you can carry on and play and sometimes you need time off, so that's why we are seeing a specialist."

Palmer joined the Tigers from Coventry for an undisclosed fee in August and has scored one goal in eight league starts.

"Kasey is a good player for the level but we can't make excuses and if he's not ready somebody will step onto the pitch ready to fight for the team," added Selles.

Hull City are bottom of the Championship, with Selles replacing Tim Walter as head coach earlier this month.

Bottom side Hull City are still searching for their first win under new boss Ruben Selles following a 1-1 draw with Watford and a 2-1 defeat at Coventry.

The Tigers are two points from safety but have played a game more than three of the four sides above them - and two more than Portsmouth.

Swansea, who are 10th, have lost just one of their past five (W2 D2) and are seven points behind the play-off spots heading into the weekend.

• Hull City have won just one of their past nine league games against Swansea City (D5 L3) and have failed to win any of their past four against the Welsh side.

• Swansea have won just one of their past six away league games against Hull City (D2 L3), though it did come on their most recent visit in February 2024 during a 1-0 success.

• Hull have failed to win any of their past 13 league games (D4 L9) and the Tigers last endured a longer run between March and August 2002 when they were in the fourth tier (15 games).

• Swansea have failed to win any of their past three league games against sides from Yorkshire (D1 L2), the club's longest streak since a run of six matches between January and September 2022.

• Swansea are the only side in the Championship so far this season not to score a headed goal, while Hull have conceded the most headed goals (7).

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Swansea City will find a familiar face to welcome them at the MKM Stadium when they travel to play Hull City in Saturday's early Championship game, which kicks off at 12:30 GMT.

Former winger Jason Price played for both clubs during his career and the now 47-year-old will be part of the Tigers' match hospitality for the game.

The Aberdare native took his first steps as a professional with the Swans as a 17-year-old, signing with them in July 1995 from amateur side Aberaman where he had been playing after being released by Cardiff City.

Price made 177 appearances - scoring 20 goals - in six years at the club, earning his place in club folklore for his part in their 1999-2000 old Third Division title-winning campaign under John Hollins.

Swansea needed just a draw on the final day at Rotherham to clinch the title, with Price winning the penalty that Matthew Bound converted in a 1-1 draw.

Sadly, the game will also be remembered for the death of Swansea fan Terry Coles who was trampled by a police horse.

Price also has a warm place in the hearts of Hull fans, joining them in July 2003 after spells at Brentford and Tranmere Rovers, playing a key role in a double promotion with the Tigers that took them from the fourth tier to the second tier.

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Ruben Selles' versatility as a coach will help him with his "big challenge" at Hull City, says BBC EFL pundit Jobi McAnuff.

Selles has swapped League One Reading for the MKM Stadium and former Royals midfielder McAnuff told BBC 5 Live's Football Daily 72+ podcast the switch comes with an immediate ramp-up in pressure.

Selles had taken the Royals to sixth in the table amid considerable upheaval behind the scenes following a number of failed takeover attempts and an EFL transfer embargo limiting his recruitment.

The Spaniard had also secured survival last term after a series of points deductions.

"I think it will be a big difference - with the greatest respect to how well he did at Reading, there wasn't a lot of pressure and expectation because of everything that was going on off the pitch. He went and delivered but I think Hull is a different story," McAnuff said.

"What I liked about Selles at Reading, he went in with a way of playing, that 4-2-2-2, it didn't work and he changed it - he wasn't afraid to say 'this isn't working with the players I have got'.

"From that point of view, as a young coach being able to adapt, see what the talent and the qualities are in that squad, and going to put a team together to get results is something he has done and is going to need to do with Hull City at the moment.

"It's a big challenge but he certainly deserves it. They have got a young coach who's hungry and really wants to go and prove himself at that level."

Selles, 41, oversaw a 1-1 draw against Watford on Wednesday and takes City to Coventry City on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

Coventry welcome Hull City on Saturday as two new head coaches face off in an important clash in the bottom half of the Championship.

Sky Blues boss Frank Lampard tasted defeat for the first time in a 2-0 loss at West Brom on Wednesday night, while the Tigers drew 1-1 with Watford in Ruben Selles' first game in charge.

Hull are rooted to the foot of the table but are just one point from safety and Coventry are four points above the drop zone.

• Coventry City have failed to win any of their past five league games against Hull City (D2 L3), with those matches seeing 16 goals scored between the two sides combined.

• Hull City have won on four of their past five league trips to Coventry (D1), one more win than in their prior 12 such visits (D4 L5).

• Coventry have conceded two goals in each of their past five home league games (W1 D2 L2), only in November 1967 (6) have the Sky Blues conceded 2+ goals at home in a longer run of league matches.

• Hull are winless in their past five away league games (D1 L4), conceding 10 goals during that run (2 per game).

• Coventry have conceded 32 home league goals in 2024, their most since 2015 (also 32), last conceding more in 2013 (38). Their average goals conceded per game on home soil in 2024 is their worst (1.68) since their first ever year in the English Football League in 1919 (1.73 per game).

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Hull City striker Chris Bedia believes that the team is 'close' to ending their long winless run.

They drew 1-1 with Watford in Ruben Selles' first game in charge after losing their previous six.

But the point keeps them bottom of the Championship, while they are now 22 matches without a victory.

"We are very, very close," Bedia told BBC Radio Humberside. "I see the energy in the dressing room - everyone supports everyone; we're all together; everyone believes.

"If everyone believes, we will get there."

On loan Ivory Coast striker Bedia, 28, grabbed his third Hull goal, but a late Rocco Vata equaliser denied them a debut win for Selles.

"We worked more tactically," said Bedia. "The coach knows there are a lot of good, quality players in the team, so we worked more on tactics in the last two days."

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Hull City first-team coach Andy Dawson says new boss Ruben Selles is making good first impressions after the Spaniard's appointment on a two-and-a-half-year deal.

Former Tigers left-back Dawson was in charge for their previous two Championship matches as interim head coach after Tim Walter's sacking and has been impressed by the 41-year-old's demeanour since his arrival from Reading.

"He's brilliant, he's been in the same position as what I've been in the last 10 days," Dawson told BBC Radio Humberside.

"He's respectful, he certainly brings a freshness, he's a very humble guy from what I've seen and again very personable, which is massive for staff and players."

Selles was in the stands on Saturday to watch his new side's 1-0 defeat at home by Blackburn Rovers which was the Tigers' sixth defeat in a row and plunged them to the bottom of the table.

Dawson believes Selles has a lot to work with, however, as he aims to pick his side up from the floor, starting with Wednesday night's Championship home game against Watford.

"If you get to December and you're bottom of the table, of course it's a big task," Dawson added.

"That's the reality of where we are but when you start to dissect things with a clear mind - have we given Middlesbrough a game? Absolutely. Have we gone toe-to-toe with Blackburn, sixth? Absolutely.

"I think he'll have seen a side with a lot of natural ability in it.

"There's a lot that goes into getting players in the right mind space and in a position where they feel they can go and express themselves - that's the first impression we've certainly seen from the gaffer".

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Results across the weekend saw Hull City drop to the foot of the Championship table and new boss Ruben Selles will be on the touchline for the first time on Wednesday night.

The Tigers have failed to win any of their past six home games and are on a six match losing streak in the league.

If Watford's away form came anywhere near their home results they would be a lot closer to the automatic promotion spots let alone the top six.

The Hornets' return of seven points from their nine away games is the lowest in the top 15 of the Championship.

• Hull City have lost just three of their past 13 league games against Watford (W6 D4), keeping a clean sheet in four of their past five such matches.

• Watford have won two of their past four away league games against Hull City (L2), as many victories as across their prior 17 such fixtures combined beforehand (D6 L9).

• Hull have failed to win any of their past five home league games played in midweek (D3 L2 – Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday), their longest such run between August 2017 and November 2018 (nine matches).

• Watford have won just one of their past 10 league games played in midweek (D3 L6 – Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday), though that sole victory did come during their past such match against Bristol City last month (1-0).

• Watford won their past away league game against a side from Yorkshire 6-2 against Sheffield Wednesday last month, scoring as many goals in that match as across their prior 10 such matches combined beforehand.

Mike White
BBC Radio Humberside sport editor

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This will be largely viewed as a positive and progressive appointment by Hull City, who need something to lift them from the despair of being in the bottom three and the stench of the failed Tim Walter experiment.

Selles was touted by a number of pundits and fans as the obvious choice given the impressive job he's done at Reading under increasingly challenging circumstances, and he should walk away from the Berkshire club with his head held high, even if he knows he's leaving the Royals still in a potentially perilous predicament off the field.

Thankfully, that's not the situation he's coming into with the Tigers but he still needs to make a relatively swift impact with a side whose winless run hit double figures in the post-Walter loss at Middlesbrough.

Although there were at least encouraging signs in that game that the players appeared to be playing with a little more freedom and a greater degree of confidence and positivity.

That was aided in no small part by interim boss Andy Dawson, who once again has shown a level of class and composure, a true calming influence, that has earned him respect from those he works with directly as well as fans and others around the club.

As for Selles, known for being supportive of his players, whilst giving them the freedom to express themselves, it will be music to the ears of regular City followers that, based on past interviews he's given, there is always a 'plan B'.

The "football philosophy" they frustratingly and repeatedly heard so much about under Tim Walter, and some might argue even the German's predecessor Liam Rosenior, will seemingly not be allowed to get in the way of reacting to changing situations in a game when things aren't going the way you'd want.

Selles will watch on from the stands as Dawson takes charge of the team at home to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday before the new boss steps in ahead of Wednesday's game with Watford at the MKM Stadium.

That might give him some idea of the task at hand and, with January around the corner, he'll know the likelihood of reinforcements can help to shape his squad for what could be a pivotal second half of the season.

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Managerless Hull head into their home clash against Blackburn seeking to avoid a sixth successive defeat - something they have not experienced since the end of the 2019/20 season, when they were relegated from the Championship.

The Tigers, who sacked Tim Walter just over a week ago, have gleaned just three points from their last 10 games but could climb out of the bottom three with a much-needed victory.

However, they face a Rovers side who cross the Pennines in good form after winning three games in a row, including victories over promotion contenders Middlesbrough and Leeds - and could climb into the top six themselves with another three points at the MKM Stadium.

● Hull City won both of their league games against Blackburn Rovers last season and will be looking to win three in succession for the first time in this fixture's history which was first contested back in August 1949.

● Blackburn have won three of their last five away league games against Hull City (L2), with each of those victories coming via a 1-0 score line.

● Hull are winless in their last 10 league games (D3 L7), losing the last five in a row. They last had a longer league losing streak in July 2020 (6).

● After a run of four games without a win (D1 L3), Blackburn have won each of their last three league games; they last won four in a row in March 2023.

● Only Plymouth (14) have conceded the opening goal in more Championship games this season than Hull City (13), losing each of their last seven games in the competition in which they've done so.

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Hull City forward Mason Burstow has admitted his relationship with ex-boss Tim Walter became so strained he felt like "giving up".

Burstow scored his first goal for the club in the Tigers' 3-1 defeat to Middlesbrough on Saturday, the game that immediately followed Walter's dismissal.

The Chelsea loanee claimed he tried to speak to Walter about a lack of game time during the early stage of the season but did not receive clarification as to why he was often left out of the side.

"I tried to speak to him a couple of times about playing time and what I can work on to get in the side because I felt like I trained well every day," he told BBC Radio Humberside.

"It was one of those things where I wasn’t really getting anything back so you almost had the feeling of giving up - it was difficult."

The 21-year-old started just two Championship matches under Walter before the German was sacked last week following a 2-0 home defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.

"Its tough because I felt like it was unnatural," he added.

"Coming through youth academies you always felt like you could speak to a staff member, you felt like you could get your points across - it was probably the first time I felt like I couldn’t."

The England Under-20 international added that his relationship with new interim boss Andy Dawson is more positive, however.

"Since they've come in, him and Erb [goalkeeping coach Erbil Bozkurt] have been two people we feel like we can speak to," said Burstow.

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It is one of the most eagerly anticipated dates in the football calendar as Premier League and Championship clubs join the FA Cup action from round three.

The draw will take place on Monday, 2 December from 19:00 GMT and can be watched live on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

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Hull City interim boss Andy Dawson has stated he aims to bring things back to basics following the sacking of Tim Walter on Wednesday.

Dawson takes the Tigers to Middlesbrough on Saturday lunchtime in his second stint as interim manager as they look to end a run of 10 matches without victory.

"It’ll always be basics - basics will always help you win a game of football," the 46-year-old told BBC Radio Humberside.

"That will always be an important value that you have to live by every single day, but actually basics make brilliance as well.

"If we can do that one to a 11, plus the subs, plus the people that aren’t in the squad, all buying into the importance of the end goal which is results there’s no reason why we can’t [climb the table]."

The Tigers have no fresh injury concerns but will be without Charlie Hughes for their trip to Teeside after the defender picked up his fifth booking in Tuesday's defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.

Dawson also confirmed under-23 coach Conor Sellars and U21 assistant manager Billy Clarke will make up his backroom staff for Saturday's game at the Riverside.