Hull vs Sheffield Wednesday preview: Championship clash live on Sky Sports Football Red Button
Watch live on Sky Sports Football Red Button and the Sky Sports app from 7.40pm on Tuesday; Kick-off is at 7.45pm
Tuesday 1 October 2019 09:53, UK
Hull vs Sheffield Wednesday in the Sky Bet Championship on Tuesday. Coverage gets underway live on Sky Sports Football Red Button at 7.40pm; Kick-off is at 7.45pm..
Team news
Hull could have Matthew Pennington and Stephen Kingsley back in contention against Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday. The defenders missed the 2-2 draw with Cardiff on Saturday through injury, but Tigers boss Grant McCann is hopeful the duo will return on Tuesday night.
Callum Elder (calf) was also absent against the Bluebirds and he is set to miss out again, although there is a chance he could be involved against Huddersfield at the weekend. Jon Toral is also unlikely to feature having missed the Tigers' last three matches with the hamstring strain he sustained against Millwall at the end of August.
Garry Monk will want to continue his unbeaten start as Sheffield Wednesday manager at the KCOM Stadium. However, the Owls, who have taken seven points from Monk's first three league games in charge, are waiting on the fitness of midfielder Sam Hutchinson.
Hutchinson, who remains a yellow card away from a suspension, was substituted just before half-time in the emphatic 4-1 win at Middlesbrough on Saturday after suffering a knock to his knee. There may be a return to action for skipper Tom Lees after a hamstring injury, but Joe Wildsmith remains a long-term absentee.
Recent form
The Tigers are scoring their fair share of goals this term, but their inability to hold a lead this month has cost them dear. Wigan youngster Joe Gelhardt secured a 2-2 draw for the Latics after the international break, but a rampant performance in the 3-0 win at Luton was sandwiched between another 2-2 draw on Saturday, when Danny Ward secured a point for Cardiff two minutes into second-half stoppage time.
Garry Monk suffered his first defeat as Owls boss in midweek - when Everton comfortably reached the fourth round of the Carabao Cup thanks to Dominic Calvert-Lewin's double - but he remains unbeaten in the league and followed up a 2-0 win over Huddersfield and a 1-1 draw with Fulham by overseeing a thumping 4-1 victory on his return to former club Middlesbrough.
Talking point - Can Monk get Wednesday back on track?
Sheffield Wednesday's 2015/16 (6th) and 2016/17 (4th) league positions were the highest since the 1990s, when they were a Premier League mainstay. Twice they reached the play-offs, losing on both occasions. In the two seasons since, they've been led astray under the guidance of Jos Luhukay and Steve Bruce, the mediocrity of mid-table having worn away any remnants of positivity.
In Monk they appear to have a grounded figure at the helm, one with plenty of experience in both the Championship and the Premier League and they've started well in the first months since his appointment. The bright start has the Owls sitting seventh at present, just three points behind leaders West Brom and having conceded just eight goals in nine games. Is this the year success returns to Hillsborough.
Latest highlights
Opta stats
Hull City are looking to win back-to-back home league games against Sheffield Wednesday for the first time since December 2007.
Sheffield Wednesday's 3-0 defeat at the KC Stadium against Hull last season was their 50th league meeting and the Owls' heaviest league defeat against the Tigers.
Hull haven't kept a clean sheet in any of their last 10 home league games, and are winless in their last four (D2 L2).
Sheffield Wednesday are looking to secure three consecutive away league wins for the first time since April 2017.
No player has scored more league goals for Hull this season than Kamil Grosicki, with three of his four strikes coming from direct free-kicks.
Prutton's prediction
David Prutton predicts: 1-2 (9/1)
