Steve Bruce told BBC Radio 5 live earlier that he has taken a bit of a gamble by throwing £10m signing Abel Hernandez straight into the side.

The Hull boss clearly fancies the Uruguay international to make a quick impression. The forward had a very good record at Italian Serie B champions Palermo last season, scoring 14 goals in 28 games.

Could he follow in the footsteps off his international team-mate Luis Suarez and make an impact in the Premier League?

Andy via text: The rumours surrounding Steve Bruce's managerial future is certainly going to have had some sort of negative impact on the Hull City players. West Ham could take advantage of that.

Jenni in Newtownards via text: All the talk has been about the possibility of Steve Bruce taking over at Newcastle. But if things were to go badly at West Ham he could also be first in line to take over at Upton Park after Big Sam!

Andrew via text: Hull City are definitely a club going places. The recent signings of Abel Hernandez, Mo Diame, Hatem Ben Arfa and Gaston Ramirez tell you that. Hopefully they can keep a hold of Steve Bruce too.

Midfielder Mo Diame makes his Hull City debut against the club he signed from. Diame scored seven goals in 71 Premier League appearances for West Ham. In addition, Uruguay striker and club record £10m signing Abel Hernandez also make his first appearance for the Tigers. Gaston Ramirez and Hatem Ben Arfa are on the bench.

Both of West Ham's recent signings Alex Song and Morgan Amalfitano are on the bench.

Hull: McGregor, Davies, Dawson, Robertson, Elmohamady, Livermore, Huddlestone, Diame, Quinn, Hernandez, Jelavic. Subs: Rosenior, Chester, Meyler, Brady, Harper, Ramirez, Ben Arfa.

West Ham: Adrian, Demel, Tomkins, Reid, Cresswell, Noble, Kouyate, Downing, Zarate, Sakho, Valencia. Subs: Jenkinson, Collins, Amalfitano, Jaaskelainen, Song, Cole, Vaz Te.

Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire)

Image source, Getty Images

When talk of changing Hull City's name to Hull Tigers first emerged last season, fans made their feelings known with protests and chants against Assem Allam's plan to change the name.

Steve Bruce acted as peace-broker back then and is doing the same again after Allam's comments towards the end of last week reignited the debate.

"My appeal to all [fans] is that they can have their thoughts. But once it gets to matchday, we need them to get behind the team," Bruce said in the Hull Daily Mail., external "We need them to do that, because if it becomes fractious then it becomes difficult. When it becomes difficult then it can affect the team. That is why I appeal to the fans."

Former Hull winger Kevin Kilbane at the KC Stadium
BBC Radio 5 live

"You would hope what's going on off the pitch doesn't impact on the atmosphere. I don't think it will because there's new signings and there's a real positive vibe about the club at the moment."

Hull have started this season slightly better than West Ham, picking up four points from their first three games, but it is off-the-pitch matters that perhaps threaten to derail their campaign.

Last week, the club's beleaguered owner Assem Allam revealed that the club is up for sale as he continues to fight for a change of name to Hull Tigers, while manager Steve Bruce was linked with Newcastle over the weekend as pressure mounts on Toon boss Alan Pardew.

Tigers fans will look to their impressive list of deadline-day arrivals to provide a welcome distraction to the goings on off the pitch.

Image source, @hullcity

Hull City Official:, external Here's the cover for tonight's programme v West Ham.

Hull City manager Steve Bruce, speaking on BBC Radio 5 live, on his decision to feature all four of his new signings in his 18 tonight: "Certainly Abel Hernandez is a bit of a gamble because he only just trained with us yesterday. I thought 'why not? Let's just throw him in and hope he makes an immediate impact'."

Image source, EPA

What would a successful season look like for Hull City and West Ham?

Alex:, external Keeping Steve Bruce as Hull manager.

Dan James:, external Top 10 finish and a decent FA Cup run would do West Ham good.

Image source, Other

So it is a swift reunion with West Ham for new Hull City midfielder Mohamed Diame. He fired off a parting shot following his deadline day move to the KC Stadium from the Hammers, accusing Sam Allardyce of stalling his career by playing him in different positions.

Cue Allardyce's response:, external "It's Mo's opinion, isn't it? He had two seasons with us. We expected him to improve on his first season and he did not go on as far as we expected from there on."

Awkward times all round.

Abel Hernandez and Mohamed Diame making their debuts for Hull City. Fellow new signings Hatem Ben Arfa and Gaston Ramirez are on the bench. Enner Valencia makes his first league start for West Ham, while Alex Song is on the bench.

It has to be said, Hull City were certainly one of the winners on transfer deadline day and the loan capture of Hatem Ben Arfa was particularly impressive.

His direct running and on-the-ball flair was often a joy to watch when Newcastle played, but he found himself, for whatever reason, seemingly frozen out at the North East club, and was knocking about in the reserves before Bruce came calling.

"There is no doubt about Ben Arfa's ability," said Bruce. "I think he might just have something to prove and when someone has got a fire burning inside them to prove people wrong then sometimes you can benefit from that. Let's hope so."

Image source, Getty Images

What would a successful season look like for Hull City and West Ham?

Reece McCarthy:, external Top 10 finishes for both Hull and West Ham.

James Chesson:, external Both should finish safely in mid-table, so perhaps a top half finish or slightly lower with a decent cup run.

Charlie Hart:, external If Big Sam can find his best team then West Ham could push for the top eight.

BBC Radio 5 live

Former Hull City winger Kevin Kilbane is at the KC Stadium alongside Steve Bower for BBC Radio 5 live. Build-up with Mark Chapman, who also presents the day's sports news, starts at 19:00 BST.

Full match commentary with Steve and Kevin from 20:00 BST and you can listen by clicking on the 'Live coverage' tab at the top of the page.

Before a ball was even kicked this season the pressure was on Sam Allardyce to get results, but it has not been the best of starts by the Hammers. They have won one of their opening three games, suffering defeats in the other two which included a disappointing 3-1 home loss to Southampton.

Allardyce accused his players of becoming a bit "too cocky", external against the Saints, having beaten Crystal Palace comfortably in the game before, but he believes the arrival of Alex Song could inspire the rest of the West Ham squad on to bigger and better things.

"Other players look up to a player like him," he said. "They will all get lifted by a player who has played consistently at the top level. That is the type of reaction we are looking for from him."

Will his arrival have the desired impact? Time will tell...

Image source, @whufc_official

West Ham:, external Plenty of media interest as the Hammers arrive at the KC Stadium.

The Hammers have lost seven of the last nine Premier League games stretching back to last season. Can manager Sam Allardyce turn that form around?

Image source, Getty Images

So then Hull and West Ham fans, given the signings made by your respective clubs, what would be considered a successful season? Survival? A top-10 challenge? Or, just simply, some entertaining football?

Also, both Hull and West Ham have got what could be considered a transfer coup in the shape of Alex Song and Hatem Ben Arfa so, with that in mind, which is the best signing made by the less fancied sides during the summer transfer window?

Let us know via #bbcfootball,, external text to 81111 (UK only), or jot down your thoughts on the BBC Sport Facebook, external and Google+, external pages.

Daily Telegraph football correspondent Henry Winter:, external At the KC Stadium. Just bumped into an ebullient Steve Bruce, clearly very excited about Hull City's new signings.

Image source, @HULLCITY

Steve Bruce was also a busy man during the summer transfer window. He splashed out a club record £10m to sign Uruguay striker Abel Hernandez on deadline day, while Mo Diame arrived from West Ham, Gaston Ramirez from Southampton and Hatem Ben Arfa from Newcastle.

Ramirez and Ben Arfa made an impression in a behind-closed-doors friendly with West Brom last week, with both scoring in a 2-2 draw.

The Tigers certainly need the lift a few new faces can often provide, especially after their performance in the 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa last-time out, with Bruce saying: "The performance in the first half was the worst I can remember in the time I've been at the club. For the travelling supporters who witnessed it, you have to apologise."

The new quartet could well get their chance to impress tonight.

Image source, Getty Images

Sam Allardyce's signing of Alex Song certainly caught the eye, but another new arrival will no doubt be hoping to make an impression tonight.

Enner Valencia has been eased into life in the Premier League this season, following his exploits at the recent World Cup with Ecuador. He was his national team's top scorer at the tournament with three goals but has made only a couple of cameo appearances off the bench for West Ham in the league, and has yet to get off the mark.

"He's ready to get the opportunity to go and play," Allardyce said recently. "It's the goal threat we really need more of this season. Him being one of our major signings, we hope he's going to be very successful."

No pressure then...