Eaves starts: The predicted Hull City XI to face Reading this weekend | OneFootball

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Football League World

·3 December 2021

Eaves starts: The predicted Hull City XI to face Reading this weekend

Article image:Eaves starts: The predicted Hull City XI to face Reading this weekend

Hull City will be hoping to extend their winning run to five this weekend as they travel to strugglers Reading tomorrow, with a victory for either side boosting their Championship survival hopes further.

Grant McCann’s men sit one point and two places above this weekend’s opponents as things stand after enjoying a successful November, winning 12 points from a possible 15, conceding just twice in five matches and keeping three clean sheets.


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Although their defence has been impressive, advanced midfielder George Honeyman has also stepped up in attack, scoring three goals in his last four outings and combining well with Keane Lewis-Potter, who will also be a threat to tomorrow’s hosts at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

Quiz: Has George Honeyman ever scored a goal for Hull City at each of these 26 stadiums?

Their opponents are currently suffering heavily with injuries, but still have the likes of Scott Dann, Danny Drinkwater and Andy Carroll at their disposal in what will be an extremely tough match for the Tigers.

With Carroll scoring his first goal for the Royals last weekend, the ex-Liverpool man will be desperate to follow that up tomorrow afternoon in front of the home crowd after making a big impact in his first few appearances at the club.

This will make their upcoming tie a tough test for the visitors, but they will be full of confidence with a winning run under their belt and will travel to Berkshire hopeful of winning another three points.

But who will be tasked with facing up to Veljko Paunovic’s side? We have predicted McCann’s starting lineup ahead of tomorrow’s clash.

Football League World Fans’ Player of the Month Nathan Baxter starts between the sticks again after keeping three clean sheets in his last four games, with his introduction against Barnsley coinciding with his side’s change in fortunes.

It would be hard to see Matt Ingram coming in anytime soon, barring an injury or suspension.

It would also be hard to see Ryan Longman and Keane Lewis-Potter drop out with their current form, with the latter in particular proving to be just as much of an asset this term as he was last season in their title-winning campaign.

He has been the subject of Premier League interest recently along with Jacob Greaves, with Norwich City reported to be monitoring his situation ahead of a potential January move.

The 21-year-old takes his place in central defence again alongside Di’Shon Bernard and Sean McLoughlin – and the latter deserves a lot of praise for his part in the East Yorkshire outfit’s recent fortunes after only receiving a very limited number of minutes on the pitch earlier in the campaign.

Matt Smith and Tom Huddlestone are both in contention to be involved tomorrow, but Greg Docherty and Richie Smallwood have done more than enough to keep their places and it would perhaps be foolish to risk the former two.

Honeyman starts in front of the midfield duo as one of City’s most creative outlets, but if recent games are anything to go by, he may also get himself on the scoresheet at some point tomorrow.

The only change from last weekend’s win against Millwall comes in the forward department, with Tom Eaves coming in for Mallik Wilks, who struggled last weekend and may benefit from coming on as an impact player later in the game.

Wilks will be desperate to react if he’s benched by McCann – and this potential motivation to impress will only help the visitors in their quest to win another three points – so it’s definitely something to consider.

Eaves partners Josh Magennis in attack, although it wouldn’t be surprising to see both the Northern Ireland international and Eaves substituted at some point with Tyler Smith also set to return to the matchday squad in time for their fixture in Berkshire.

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