Looking to build on last season’s 15th-placed finish in their first full term under the management of Liam Rosenior, Hull City have certainly enjoyed a positive start to the new Championship campaign, as they currently sit fourth with 15 points on the board from just eight outings.
After suffering a narrow defeat in their curtain-raiser away at Norwich City, the Tigers have since gone unbeaten in the last seven second-tier games, as they bounced back from the opening-day setback in style by earning 10 points from the next four matches prior to the international break, scoring victories over Sheffield Wednesday, Blackburn Rovers and newly-relegated Leicester City alongside a draw with Bristol City.
On their return to action in mid-September, Rosenior’s men hosted Coventry City and extended the unbeaten streak with a 1-1 draw, having pulled level in the 87th minute through Aaron Connolly, before earning another creditable point from a goalless stalemate with Yorkshire rivals and promotion-hopefuls Leeds United before most recently travelling to take on Stoke City last Sunday.
Connolly put them ahead on the half-hour mark in that contest and Adama Traore instantly added a second, before Regan Slater added his name to the scoresheet in the 73rd minute of an eventual 3-1 triumph, moving the Tigers into the playoff places as a result.
Now bound to be full of confidence thanks to their strong run, which has included four victories, Hull will aim to continue building momentum with another three-point haul on Saturday, as they aim to further strengthen their position among the frontrunners this term.
their way stand a Plymouth Argyle side who make the long trip north aiming to make it back-to-back league wins for the first time this season, having enjoyed a positive start of their own after winning promotion back to the Championship last time around under the management of Steven Schumacher.
The Pilgrims topped England’s third tier with 101 points in 2022-23 and carried momentum into the new campaign as they began with a home victory over Huddersfield Town and a commendable draw against Watford, only to suffer 2-1 defeats in the following meetings with Southampton and Birmingham City, both of whom profited from decisive goals deep in injury time.
Schumacher’s men were able to bounce back prior to the international break with a 3-0 beating of Blackburn Rovers, but their return to action was again marked by consecutive defeats, as trips to Preston North End and Bristol City in mid-September ended in 2-1 and 4-1 losses respectively prior to their latest outing at home to Norwich City last Saturday.
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They again bounced back and were certainly able to put up a dominant display in that contest, going into the interval 4-0 up thanks to a pair of goals from Morgan Whittaker and strikes from Dan Scarr and Finn Azaz, and
despite Adam Idah hitting a late brace for the visitors, the Pilgrims still came away with an eye-catching 6-2 triumph as Whittaker turned his first-half double into a hat-trick and Luke Cundle added a sixth in the final minutes of injury time.
Now with some renewed confidence from that impressive display and return to winning ways, Plymouth will now seem to end their inconsistent spell and make it back-to-back wins for the first time since winning promotion on Saturday, albeit in another tough test.
