Hull City v Manchester United
Sunday 16:00,
Sky Sports 3.
Match Odds: Hull 3.39/4, Man Utd 2.35/4, The Draw 3.814/5.
Hull City's task here at the KC Stadium is very simple - they must beat Manchester United to stand a chance of surviving in the Premier League. Only then can they afford to look elsewhere, and hope West Ham can do them a favour at St James' Park.
Steve Bruce has never beaten his former club Manchester United as a manager, so now would be the perfect time to start. Hull have been capable of causing bigger clubs problems at home over the past couple of seasons, and Bruce will hope his three-man defence can hold firm against United's attacking talents.
Those three will be James Chester, Michael Dawson and Paul McShane, with Curtis Davies still out through injury. They'll be happy to learn Wayne Rooney is likely to miss out through injury, with either Radamel Falcao or Robin van Persie set to lead the line - both were world-class strikers in their day, but neither have looked on-form this season.
United's secondary goal threat will come from Marouane Fellaini, breaking forward from a left-of-centre midfield position. The big Belgian has caused problems in the air recently, though while few defenders are capable of consistently beating him in the air, Hull will probably be happier to defend crosses rather than compete against a quick striker.
The positioning of Hull's wing-backs will be interesting. Ordinarily, they would probably look to defend solidly against Manchester United's wingers, and break forward only sporadically.
However, in a game they need to win, Bruce might be able to take a chance and push Robbie Brady higher up down the left, with Juan Mata going free to drift inside the lines. Antonio Valencia has been performing well at right-back recently, and Brady might need to track his runs.
On the opposite flank, Ahmed Elmohamady could be up against Angel Di Maria, with Ashley Young seemingly unfit. Again, this is a boost to Hull, as Young had been in tremendous form.
The centre of midfield will be a three-versus-three battle. Stephen Quinn and David Meyler will broadly be up against Ander Herrera and Fellaini, with Tom Huddlestone and Daley Blind in deeper positions, probably getting a bit of time on the ball to spread play out wide. This will be particularly important for Hull, who lack creativity in central positions and depend on their wing-backs pushing forward up the touchlines.
The alternative approach is playing long balls into the channels, where Dame N'Doye will look to sprint onto the ball determinedly on the outside of Chris Smalling and, in particular, Phil Jones who looked extremely nervous against Arsenal last week.
Hull's best chances might come when they won the ball and get it forward quickly - Manchester United's defensive shape is good when they have time to organise themselves.
Maybe Bruce's biggest decision of the season is who to play alongside N'Doye. It could be Nikica Jelavic, who started last weekend at White Hart Lane, hitting the woodwork in the early stages. It could be Sone Aluko, who drifts wide and collects the ball in clever positions. Or it could be the raw pace of Abel Hernandez, who has shown nothing like his best ability since moving to the Premier League last summer.
They must test Victor Valdes, likely to start in place of the injured David De Gea. Valdes hasn't started a competitive game for over a year, and we don't know how good his communication is with the two centre-backs.
I think Hull will get chances and find the net, although whether they can keep a clean sheet is much more doubtful. I expect drama here, and will back both sides to score at 1.758/11.
Recommended bet:
Back both teams to score at 1.758/11