Championship | Gameweek 10

Oct 20, 2024 at 3pm UK

The A2B Stadium

Hull City vs Sunderland

Match preview

After finishing seventh in the Championship last season - missing out on the play-off lottery by just three points - a much-changed Hull City are on a mission to finish in the top six this time around and eventually secure promotion to the Premier League for the first time since 2016.

Three successive wins over Stoke City, strugglers Cardiff City and Queens Park Rangers in the last month by a combined score of 10-3 suggested the Tigers had turned the corner after a stuttering start to the season, but a 4-0 defeat at Norwich before the international break brought the Tigers back down to earth.

Despite having over 15 shots on target at Carrow Road, Hull were unable to find the back of the net for the entire 90 minutes, with Marcelino Nunez, Josh Sargent, Kaide Gordon and Borja Sainz all on target for the hosts.

Having won three, drawn three and lost three of their opening nine games in the second tier, the Tigers currently sit 13th in the Championship table, four points behind sixth-placed Watford and five points clear of 22nd-placed Queens Park Rangers.

After a season of mediocrity and a subsequent 16th-placed finish, Sunderland appear to be heading in the right direction for 2024-25, with the arrival of French tactician Regis Le Bris and an exciting crop of young talent.

After edging past newly-promoted Derby County on 1 October, the Black Cats proved they could compete with the best in the division three days later at the Stadium of Light, where a comical Illan Meslier own goal in injury time earned them a 2-2 draw with Leeds United.

It was Sunderland's 17-year-old prodigy Chris Rigg, who scored the opening goal against the Whites, who stole the headlines again on the night as the academy graduate showed why he is attracting interest from Premier League giants Manchester United and Liverpool.

Heading into a busy run of fixtures before the November international break, the Black Cats sit comfortably at the top of the Championship table, level on points with second-placed Sheffield United, who were two points adrift at the start of the season.

Recent Performance

Hull City Championship form:LLWWWL

Hull City form (all competitions):LWWWLW

Sunderland Championship form:WLWLWD

Injuries and suspensions

Hull City

No sidelined players

Sunderland

23 Jenson Seelt

2 Niall Huggins

Possible starting lineups

Hull City possible starting lineup:

Pandur; Coyle, Jones, Hughes, Giles; Slater, Alzate, Mehlem; Belloumi, Millar, Bedia

Sunderland possible starting lineup:

Patterson; Hume, Mepham, O'Nien, Cirkin; Rigg, Neil; Bellingham, Roberts, Mundle; Isidor