Putting the Chelsea defeat to one side, the last two home Championship results and performances against Watford and Bristol City have been somewhat alarming for City supporters, irrespective of the fine season which is still being enjoyed.
Granted, the two aforementioned opponents were certainly travelling to HU3 with a hint of ‘danger’ surrounding them, with the Hornets playing for places after Javi Gracia’s exit, before the Robins emphatically silenced their own critics after a 5-0 battering at the hands of Derby the previous gameweek.
There is now no real margin for error in the final three games of February for Sergej Jakirovic’s side if they are to reaffirm to everybody just why City supporters felt so aggrieved that the Bosnian’s team were not being taken as seriously as Coventry City, Middlesbrough, Ipswich Town and now Millwall in the promotion conversation.
In truth, watching Coventry vs Middlesbrough on Monday night somewhat showcased why a gap has re-emerged between Hull and those two sides, who, in my opinion, will be the two who take up the automatic promotion spots.
The Tigers, who have certainly put a handful of previous ‘typical city’ curses to the sword under Jakirovic, couldn’t have asked for a better fixture on paper to record a first victory since the 1-0 success over Blackburn Rovers on January 31st.
Queens Park Rangers have been the embodiment of inconsistency this season under Julien Stephan, albeit, the inconsistencies shown by almost half of the Championship mean the West London side are far from out of the play-off race, just four points behind Derby – who come to HU3 next week – ahead of kick-off.
Rangers are currently without top scorer, Rumarn Burrell, who has adapted tremendously well to Championship life after joining from Burton Albion last summer, and have won just one of their previous 10 matches away from Loftus Road – a run which stretches all the way back to October 25th. That being said, the previous scourge of City – Ilias Chair – is set to return to the fold alongside the impressive Jonathan Varane and Nicolas Madsen.
Remarkably, there are still nine sides in the second tier with a worse record on their travels, with the Hoops also recording three successive goalless away draws on the spin against Stoke City, Oxford United and Charlton Athletic.
Two of those sides have scored just 58 times between them this term, which is only eight more than the total which City have racked up after 32 matches.
The Tigers, of course, have been one of the most efficient teams when it comes to finding the back of the net this term, and will hope to welcome Oli McBurnie back into the fold after Jakirovic admitted the star striker was better off sitting out the FA Cup tie against Liam Rosenior’s Club World Cup champions, whilst the same can also be said for Charlie Hughes.
As such, it is an opportunity for City to ‘get back on the horse’ and restore momentum after slipping down to fifth last weekend, albeit some eyes will soon be focused on the crucial game in hand against Ipswich at Portman Road on March 3rd.
hcafcHub 