Hull v Man City preview

Bridge: Returns to action

PREDICTIONS

Skysports.com's prediction: Hull 1 Man City 2

SKYBET odds: Hull 9/2, Draw 12/5, Man City 8/11

One to watch: Wayne Bridge

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Premier League relegation candidates Hull City will be looking to build on an impressive midweek draw when UEFA Champions League chasing Manchester City come to town on Saturday.

The Tigers managed to claim a 1-1 draw with pace-setters Chelsea on Tuesday to give Phil Brown's men plenty of confidence going into the weekend fixture at the KC Stadium.

City, meanwhile, kept their bid for a top-four finish on track last Sunday as they dispatched basement-boys Portsmouth 2-0 at Eastlands and boss Roberto Mancini will be after three points against another of the league's strugglers.

And Mancini looks set to give in-the-news Wayne Bridge his first appearance in two months for the trip to Hull.

Bridge has recovered from a knee injury and is set to make his long-awaited comeback, but fellow defenders Vincent Kompany and Micah Richards both look certain to miss out.

Debuts

Richards (calf) and Kompany (groin) are unlikely to be involved at the KC Stadium clash but the affluent Manchester outfit could hand Patrick Vieira and Adam Johnson their debuts.

Vieira arrived from Inter Milan last month with a calf injury but has overcome the complaint and will be vying with Nigel De Jong for the role of anchoring City's midfield.

Mancini's liking to use his left-footed players on the right wing could see deadline day signing Johnson replace Martin Petrov, whose form has dipped of late.

Joleon Lescott has been out with a knee injury but the £24million defender is fit enough to take a place on the bench, but is not expected to feature.

Dilemma

Hull boss Phil Brown has a plethora of options at his disposal for the visit of the Blues following the point against Chelsea midweek.

Defender Paul McShane suffered a gash to his eye during that game but has recovered in time for Saturday's clash and should line up in an unchanged back four which has been aided by the heroic form of goalkeeper Boaz Myhill.

Teenage midfielder Tom Cairney caught the eye against Chelsea and the former Leeds trainee could keep Seyi Olofinjana out of the team after the 29-year-old returned from African Cup of Nations duty for Nigeria.

Brown faces a dilemma up front and will have to decide whether to stick with Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Jozy Altidore or give January signing Amr Zaki his first start in Tigers colours after coming off the bench in Hull's last two league games.

But the former Derby tactician will be without midfielder Giovanni after Brazilian damaged a ligament and has flown out to Portugal for treatment in the hope the 30-year-old will be fit for the midweek clash against Blackburn.

Midfield maestro Jimmy Bullard is still three weeks away from action following his knee injury while Kamel Ghilas (thigh) , Dean Marney (calf) and Ian Ashbee (ligament) remain long-term absentees.

Possible starting XIs

Hull City: Myhill, McShane, Gardner, Mouyokolo, Dawson, Fagan, Boateng, Cairney, Hunt, Altidore, Vennegoor of Hesselink.

Man City: Given, Zabaleta, Onuoha, Toure, Bridge, A Johnson, Vieira, Barry, Bellamy, Tevez, Adebayor.