Hull City vs Cardiff City Prediction: Hull trying to break in top six

Hull City will welcome Cardiff City at MKM Stadium in Game Week 22 of the English Championship. Bluebirds were defeated in midweek game against Birmingham City. Who will come out on top after 90 minutes?

Hull City form

Hull City experienced back-to-back defeats in December against Watford and Queens Park Rangers, marking the first time they had suffered consecutive losses under coach Liam Rosenior. The team was on the verge of a third defeat when Middlesbrough took the lead through Emmanuel Latte Lath after six minutes. However, Hull City managed to stage an impressive comeback in the second half and secured a victory with goals from Liam Delap and substitute Ozan Tufan. Goalkeeper Ryan Allsop played a crucial role in the win, making several key saves to prevent Middlesbrough from equalizing. The victory moved Hull City into seventh place, just behind Sunderland in sixth on goal difference. Delap's goal brought his tally for the Championship season to six, putting him level with Jaden Philogene in the club's Golden Boot race. Delap has been performing well in the second tier after disappointing loan spells at Stoke City and Preston North End. Under Rosenior's leadership, Hull City aims to push for a playoff spot this season after finishing in the bottom half of the table in the past two years. The team is rumored to be interested in signing Ryan Kent in January to strengthen their attacking power for a top-six challenge.

Hull City Predicted Lineup

Allsop; Christie, Jones, Greaves, Coyle; Morton, Docherty, Traore, Tufan, Twine; Delap

Cardiff City form

Cardiff City have experienced three losses in their previous four Championship matches, including a lackluster performance against Birmingham City on Wednesday. Juninho Bacuna scored the only goal of the game, resulting in Wayne Rooney's first away victory as the coach of Blues. Erol Bulut, Cardiff's manager, expressed his frustration with the team's attacking performance, noting that some players were focusing on their individual play rather than working together as a unit. This reflects the overall form of the Bluebirds, as they have only managed to score one goal in their last four games. Despite their recent struggles, Cardiff remains in contention for a top-six position, currently sitting 10th in the league standings with 30 points from 21 matches. A victory against Hull on Saturday would allow them to leapfrog their opponents in the table. The performance of Cardiff's goalkeeper, Alex Runarsson, has faced criticism following Birmingham's goal, leading Bulut to consider recalling Jak Alnwick for the upcoming match. The absence of Aaron Ramsey due to a knee injury has been keenly felt in Cardiff's lack of goals, and their top scorer, Ike Ugbo, has been struggling to secure a spot in the starting lineup, having only scored once in his last 15 Championship appearances.

Cardiff City Predicted Lineup

Runarsson; Mahlon, Goutas, McGuinness, Collins; Siopis, Ralls; Bowler, Robinson, Grant, Ugbo

Hull City vs Cardiff City Expert Tips

Hull will approach the game at MKM Stadium with a boost in confidence following their remarkable comeback at the Riverside in their previous match. Consequently, the home fans will eagerly expect their team to secure a victory. On the other hand, Cardiff displayed a lack of creativity in the offensive aspect against Birmingham. Thus, we anticipate the Bluebirds to encounter difficulties in handling Hull on Saturday afternoon. We expect under 2.5 goals in the game.