Due to injury, Howard Webb has pulled out of refereeing our match, and will be replaced by Phil Dowd.
told you made of glass he's played about 8 games in 2013, same injury again.. what a waste his career is
He's been out for a few weeks now and we have managed. No arguing we would be a better side with him in it, but I'm confident we can still give you a game on Saturday. Boyd will have large shoes to fill for the next few weeks.
We have been without Aluko for a few weeks now. Not that we won't miss him though, as we have, despite getting some good results. Looks like George Boyd will take his place.
It's a shame that Sone won't be available but, as others have said, by no means a disaster. He's a very skillful lad who is capable of creating a goal out of nothing and he certainly adds a bit of unpredictability to the team. However, he can be infuriating and his decision making on when to run, when to pass and when to take an opponent on is variable to say the least. I'd love him to be available as an option in every game but I think his absence won't make a big difference on Saturday. Let's just hope he does make a full recovery.
Difficult to call this one. Two of the leagues 'surprise packages' so far this season. Two teams that are defensively sound and don't score too many suggests a draw is most likely. But if we can dominate the midfield, like we usually do, then I'd give us a slight edge and hopefully we an come away with the 3 points. From what I've seen, which admittedly isn't much, Huddlestone is their main man in terms of experience and ability. If we can keep him out of the game with our high pressing, then we have a good chance.
I don't see how this match is difficult to call. Yes Hull are a decent side but if we are on form they are no match for us. I see a comfortable 2 or 3-0 win.
You'll be aided by the fact that as well as Aluko now being out long term, it doesn't look like Brady will be risked on Saturday either.
We're defensively pretty reliable (obviously), which gives me hope for no goals from Hull. In that awful wind up at Stoke we managed to create enough chances to get one in. Our perfomance last time conditions were good was OKish (Fulham, anyone remember it?); I can't see us not scoring a couple. It'll help if the crowd is in a similar mood to the Fulham game. We really lifted the team; you could feel it. I also think it will help us that no-one thinks Hull are a walkover nowadays (rightly so) so we'll be fighting hard from the off. Those are the times we sparkle. The danger, as ever, is a lazy early Hull goal and their battening down the hatches. In the absence of that, I'll go 2-0 Saints. I think that Stoke and last night have clouded fans' judgment of our quality so far this season, as we tend to have the memory skills of a goldfish. We'll be back to it on Saturday with three players all fired up by England call-ups. Vin
Difficult for me to call. I haven't seen much of Hull, but they're position in the league, some of their results and the stats they've amassed show that they are a solid team. I hope you are right and we produce a comfortable win, but I can equally see a frustrating draw on the cards particularly if Hull score early or we're particularly wasteful in front of goal. I do always air on the side of pessimism though, so maybe I'm just being overly so.
