Manchester City vs Hull City Preview
Manchester City had Sergio Aguero to thank as they held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge last weekend, Manuel Pellegrini’s men immediately hitting back after going behind to a poacher’s goal from Loic Remy.
Despite often going under the radar in comparison to some of his colleagues, Jesus Navas has been enjoying an excellent season so far. Not only is he joint-top of the City assists chart with six, he’s also recorded an impressive 1,225 sprints so far this season, another squad-best. This means that he has broken out into a sprint on average once every 1.2 minutes that he’s been on the pitch this season according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. Navas is 37/10 to score at any time this weekend with 888sport.com.
Another quieter performer, Martin Demichellis, has similarly been excelling this season. In fact, he’s been Manchester City’s standout defensive player so far this campaign, racking up an incredible 198 total defensive contributions (blocks, clearances, tackles won, interceptions) according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.
Fernandino will most likely once again be key in the middle of the park for Manchester City this weekend, particularly in the continuing absence of Yaya Toure. The Brazilian attempted the second-highest number of tackles in the last round of fixtures with 12, winning 58.3% of them.
Hull face a stern test against the reigning champions this weekend as they travel to the Etihad following a demoralising 0-3 defeat at the hands of Newcastle last time out in the league. Steve Bruce will be looking to rally his men though as they prepare to take on some of the league’s best.
Jake Livermore will likely have his hands full trying to contain a talented Manchester City midfield this weekend, however his statistics suggest he will relish the challenge. He’s won a sterling 73.9% of his 92 attempted challenges so far this season, as well as 44 interceptions and 11 blocks.
Support for the midfield from the back will likely come primarily in the shape of Curtis Davies, the Hull centre-half producing some solid defensive statistics this season. To date, he’s racked up a squad-best 398 defensive contributions this season (blocks, tackles won, interceptions, clearances), a figure which also puts him behind only Swansea’s Ashley Williams (387) in the Barclays Premier League.
Midfielder Ahmed Elmohamady has been one of Hull’s most active players when on the pitch this season, and he will likely once again be put to the test this weekend if Manchester City look to dominate possession. It’s just as well then that he currently ranks fifth in the Barclays Premier League for total sprints with 1,303, at an average rate of one every 1.6 minutes he’s been on the pitch this season. Elmohamady is 20/1 to score at any time this weekend with 888sport.com.