John Carver takes his Newcastle side to Hull City on Saturday afternoon in his first game in charge since being appointed interim manager until the end of the season. They take on a Hull side who are really struggling for form. The 50-year-old wants the job full-time and will be looking to kick off his temporary reign with a win at the KC Stadium. Steve Bruce’s Hull side are still in the midst of an injury crisis as well as the constant threat of relegation. However, Bruce may be able to call on strikers Nikica Jelavic and Abel Hernández, as well as Andy Robertson, Alex Bruce and Gaston Ramirez. Jelavic and Hernández went off injured early in the 1-0 defeat to West Brom. Robertson has recovered from an ankle injury with Southampton loanee Ramirez returning after a groin problem.
The strike duo’s return couldn’t come soon enough for Bruce, whose side have failed to score in TEN of their last 14 games, with Hull being goal-less in four of their last six home games. The Tigers sit 18th in the Premier League table currently after only two wins in their last 12 games. The exciting thing about this fixture is that it can always promise goals. In the last five meetings between the two, 19 goals have been scored. Also, this could be the first time since April 2014 that Hull have kept consecutive home clean sheets.
The Tigers have been known to have confidence issues, with the team being very inconsistent. According to Nigerian striker Sone Aluko confidence isn’t an issue. “Confidence isn’t a problem and we’ve always had the belief that we’ve got enough in the squad to win games and stay in this league.”
In Steve Bruce’s press conference this morning, he decided to address the injuries and how he may yet still have some of his star players back in the squad. “It looks like we might have some back. We’ve been away for four or five days and managed to get some training into Jelavic, Hernández and Robertson, you can add Ramirez to that list too.”
In Carver’s Newcastle press conference, he said that he’s keen to win the next group of games to make sure The Magpies aren’t dragged into the relegation zone: "We've got a group of three games now which are very, very important. The most important thing is getting that first one and it has to come soon."
He went on to add that he wants to see a replica of last season’s performance at Hull, in which Newcastle won 4-1. "I want the same performance (as last season at Hull) because it was definitely one of our best performances away from home.” This game however was overshadowed by former manager Alan Pardew’s headbutt on midfielder David Meyler.
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For Hull, a host of players return to the squad. Nikica Jelavic (knee), Abel Hernández (groin), Andy Robertson (ankle) and Gaston Ramirez (groin) all return to give the beleaguered boss a boost. However long-term absentees Liam Rosenior (hamstring), James Chester (shoulder) and Robert Snodgrass still are a long way from being fully fit.
Newcastle manager John Carver is desperate to get top scorer Papiss Cisse back in the side, the Senegalese international has been away at the African Cup of Nations, but his country has been eliminated from the tournament. Gabriel Obertan (thigh) and Mehdi Abeid (toe) are available for the temporary boss. However, the game has come too soon for Siem de Jong to make a return from his injury.
With Hull’s strikers returning, Bruce has finally addressed his problems with the Tigers reportedly agreeing a £3million fee with Lokomotiv Moscow for their striker Dame N’Doye. Having missed out on a collection of strikers such as Yaya Sanogo, Jermain Defoe, Shola Ameobi, a former stalwart of Newcastle, and the unlikely transfer of former Newcastle and Chelsea striker Demba Ba, Bruce will be keen to sign N’Doye to bring some much needed firepower to the Hull squad.
With goals being an issue with Hull, Newcastle may take this chance to capitalise on their misfortunes and steal an away win. However with Jelavic and Hernández possibly returning to the squad, the hosts may well find more confidence in front of goal.