Everton's Trip To Hull: The Opposition View

It’s good to be back, right?

Everton travel to Hull City knowing they could climb up to third with a victory. That would mean the unbeaten run continues, and it’s a newly promoted side standing in their way.

Although a newly promoted side, Hull have started well, sitting in eighth position in the table with just one defeat so far this season. The Yorkshire club won their opening two games of the campaign, but they’ve failed to win since then.

Understandably, Hull fans will now be full of optimism for the season. It’s a bit of a free hit for them with nobody expecting them to stay in the Premier League, so they can certainly play with freedom and without pressure.

Ahead of the encounter, we spoke to a representative from the To Hull & Back Podcast about the upcoming game, how Hull have been getting on this season, and some players to watch out for. 

There won’t have been many Hull supporters who would have been expecting their side to be in the top half after five games. There’s always an expectation these days for the promoted teams to go straight back down.

Will from the To Hull & Back Podcast has claimed that a lot of supporters are still shocked to even be in the Premier League, never mind fighting in the top half of the table. 

“I think if you found a Hull City fan who said they did expect to be in this position, I'd show you a liar. I think a few fans are still reeling from the fact that we're even in the Premier League full stop, never mind beating teams like Man Utd”

It’s been a crazy period for Hull, who were close to being relegated to League One. It sounds like their supporters are just grateful to even be in this position, with everything else an added bonus.

“These past 18 months, going from escaping the drop to League One on the last day on goal difference, a transfer embargo crisis through the summer, to promotion through the playoffs as the biggest underdog since Blackpool(?) have been a real whirlwind that I'm still struggling to accept actually happened! Even just promotion was a huge thing, but the way we've started this season is beyond any expectations; that opening day win over Man Utd in particular will definitely live long in the memory,” Will said.

Will is cautious that Hull could easily still be dragged into the mix come the end of the season, but the performances so far have shown plenty of promise.

“I think a lot of people went into the season just predicting us to be 20th as it looked an easy bet - completely understandable, considering how we looked on paper. Of course, many have been ridiculed since, but most City fans felt similarly, and expected us to be in a tough fight at the bottom. We still may well be, it's more likely than not - but our performances so far have shown plenty of promise and that we can very much go toe to toe with several sides and hopefully can kick on and make ourselves a regular fixture at this level.”

As we’ve mentioned already this week, the data doesn’t look too great for Hull, in comparison to their results. It suggests that they’ve perhaps been a little fortunate to be where they are, but that’s nothing new for The Tigers.

“The 'underlying numbers' argument is nothing new for us. Last season, we should've been in the bottom three on several metrics, such as goals conceded and xG, so I get the idea that we are overachieving or getting lucky, but we've had this aimed at us for well over a season now, so there must be something in how we play that the numbers don't show,” said Will.

It was a similar story for Hull last season. They finished in sixth position in the Championship last term, but only Sheffield Wednesday conceded more xG than them throughout the whole campaign. 

Hull conceded 80.1 xG, but only 66 goals. 

Will mentions that there are other factors behind Hull’s results.

“The team seem to pride themselves on being a close-knit group, who rely on their opponent to make mistakes and then punish them. Things like the embargo and several players at the club going through that relegation fight likely also helped the team mentality. Several times since Jakirović came in, we've had games where we were utterly dominated in possession and shots, but won 1-0 through sheer bloody-mindedness.”

There are intangibles that Hull clearly have that the data doesn’t show. A fight and grit that other sides don’t possess. Will admits that Hull might not be a top-half side, but they are definitely a mid-table side based on their performances so far.

“Maybe we're not a top-half team, but we are definitely, so far, a mid-table side. I think we're looking at Sunderland as the blueprint and trying to follow their example. 

I think coming up as a side that spent so many games last season as the team that didn't control the game has helped us so far, as we've not had to adapt our game to this division as much as someone like Coventry, who have had to go from dominating the league to being under the cosh every game  while we're used to it.”

There are a number of players that many fans wouldn’t have heard of from Hull heading into the season. The Tigers completely overhauled their squad during the summer transfer window, with many who are playing their first season in the Premier League.

One player Will believes Everton need to look out for is Mo Belloumi, but he’s not the only one.

“I think our right winger, Mo Belloumi, is the most obvious threat for us. Full Algerian international, still young and a little raw, but his technique and skill are superb, and on his day he's completely unplayable. Very similar to Mahrez, but way too early to tell if he reaches those levels. But as mentioned, McBurnie can be a threat even when not scoring, our defence has picked up and looks decent on set pieces now, and players like Ryan Giles and Lewie Coyle are more than happy to pepper you with crosses and try to force something, while players like Regan Slater will harass your midfield for the full 90 minutes.”

Everton have a number of players that Will wouldn’t mind seeing in a Hull shirt, but it’s Jarrad Branthwaite, unsurprisingly, who wins.

“There's a few Everton players I really like - Pickford and Grealish are obvious ones, though I think we might have a better keeper in Tzolakis (sorry!), I really enjoyed Hayden Hackney last season at Middlesbrough, Garner, Dibling and Maitland-Niles are good too but if I had to pick, it's between Dewbury-Hall and Braithwaite, and I think I'd just pip for the latter.”

Interestingly, Will has a lot of praise for summer signing Tim Iroegbunam, too.

“Also, we might've already taken him in Tim Iroegbunam! He's played a couple of times so far and has looked fantastic, but unfortunately is injured for this one so will miss out. Surprised you let us get him, to be honest!”

A big thanks to Will from the To Hull & Back Podcast for the chat!