Our three-part series on Hull City comes to an end with a look at the Tigers’ attacking options.
To provide a fan’s perspective, we’ve included insights from Danny MacDonald.
You can read our articles on Hull’s manager and defence via the links below.
- READ MORE: FPL promoted teams: What to expect from Sergej Jakirovic + Hull
- READ MORE: FPL promoted teams: What to expect from Hull’s defence
Data comes from StatsBomb and Fotmob.
WHAT IS HULL’S GOAL-SCORING POTENTIAL IN FPL?
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | CS | PTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall record | 46 | 21 | 10 | 15 | 70 | 66 | +4 | 11 | 73 |
| Home | 23 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 35 | 34 | +1 | 5 | 38 |
| Away | 23 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 35 | 32 | +3 | 6 | 35 |
As we discussed in our previous piece on Jakirovic, Hull were remarkably efficient in front of goal last season.
The Tigers recorded the fifth-fewest shots of any team in the Championship (515), yet scored the fifth-most goals (70).
A consequence of their counter-attack style in the second half of the season, they ranked eighth for non-penalty expected goals (xG) per 90 minutes (p90).
However, nobody generated a higher xG per shot than Hull (0.13), so they clearly opted for quality over quantity, but will they have what it takes to score enough goals in the Premier League next season?
“In a word, yes. We scored 70 goals in 46 games during the regular season, ranking fifth, with goalscorers throughout the side.
“It is worth noting (both for the attacking and defensive stats) that our tactical approach to games did alter between the first and second halves of the season. At the start (particularly at home), we adopted an approach akin to Ange-ball, with the idea that we had better attacking players than the opposition, which often led to very high scoring games that we mostly came out on top of.
“This style was unsustainable in the longer-term and, after a bruising defeat to Middlesbrough at the start of December, we switched to being a team happy to give up the ball and instead hurt sides on transition. This approach resulted in games with fewer goals in them, although we were still able to hurt the opposition frequently when we had the ball.” – Danny
It’s backed up by the numbers. The graphic below shows Hull’s six-match rolling xG tally since the start of 2025/26, with a visible drop-off in the second half of the season.
THE PLAYERS
2025/26: APPS, GOALS AND ASSISTS
| Player | Primary position in 2025/26 | Starts (sub apps) | Mins | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oli McBurnie | CF | 32 (5) | 2,907 | 17 | 7 |
| Joe Gelhardt* | AM/RW | 35 (4) | 2,804 | 14 | 4 |
| Kyle Joseph* | LW | 27 (17) | 2,302 | 8 | 5 |
| Matt Crooks | CM | 28 (3) | 2,502 | 4 | 4 |
| Liam Millar | LW | 22 (11) | 1,836 | 3 | 5 |
| Bachir Belloumi | RW | 10 (12) | 936 | 2 | 3 |
| Regan Slater | CM | 35 (7) | 3,150 | 2 | 2 |
| Lewis Koumas* | LW | 4 (13) | 627 | 3 | 0 |
| Babajide Akintola | RW | 5 (15) | 510 | 1 | 2 |
| Darko Gyarbi | AM | 6 (14) | 699 | 2 | 0 |
| Enis Destan | CF | 4 (14) | 443 | 2 | 0 |
| Amir Hadziahmetovic* | CM | 26 (11) | 2,119 | 0 | 2 |
| John Lundstram* | CM | 16 (13) | 1,541 | 1 | 0 |
| Joel Ndala* | LW | 10 (7) | 778 | 1 | 0 |
| Kieran Dowell | AM | 1 (12) | 259 | 1 | 0 |
| Yu Hirakawa* | LW | 2 (5) | 272 | 0 | 1 |
**not including play-offs
GOAL THREAT
Joe Gelhardt (£5.0m), who was on loan from Leeds United, netted 15 goals and was the top player for shots taken.
However, Oli McBurnie (£5.5m) was the standout performer in front of goal. Despite a two-month injury layoff, he chipped in with 18 goals, including the crucial winner in the play-off final against Middlesbrough in May.
A consistent box threat, thanks in part to his heading ability, all of McBurnie’s goals were from inside the penalty area.
Hull’s excellent season was driven by clinical finishing, with McBurnie playing a central role, netting 18 times from 12.05 xG/9.7 NPxG.
“I think it’s one thing we pride ourselves on is being clinical and being ruthless when we have chances. One thing as well we have the lads that create such good chances for us. I think a lot of the positions that we get ourselves in are going to be goals a lot more often than not. People like to speak about data and stuff, but points is the only data that matters to us and we’ve got to ride on that.” – Oli McBurnie
Liam Millar (£5.0m) and Kyle Joseph, both wide players, ranked third and fourth respectively for shots.
Bachir Belloumi (£5.0m) didn’t play as much as he would have liked last season due to injury, but showed flashes of his quality on the right wing. With 3.12 shots and 1.53 key passes per 90, he is a player to monitor.
ASSIST POTENTIAL
McBurnie not only topped the scoring charts for Hull, but also led the way for assists (seven) and key passes (37), further underlining his status as the Tigers’ talisman.
The majority of the opportunities he created were from open-play ground passes.
Millar recorded the highest expected assists (xA) tally, while the central midfield pair Regan Slater (£4.5m) and Matt Crooks (£4.5m) also ranked among the top four in the above table.
10 of Slater’s 33 key passes came from set-pieces.
DEFCON POTENTIAL
Crooks hit the defensive contribution (DefCon) threshold in two of his three play-off matches, our admittedly small sample size.
The industrious midfielder is a real all-rounder in the middle of the park, with the potential to play in the pivot, as a box-to-box midfielder or higher up.
| Opposition | Player (DefCons total) | Clearances | Blocks | Interceptions | Tackles | Recoveries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Millwall (h) | Crooks (13) Slater (8) | 3 3 | 0 0 | 1 1 | 4 1 | 5 3 |
| Millwall (a) | McBurnie (9) Belloumi (9) Slater (8) | 3 1 3 | 0 0 0 | 0 2 0 | 1 1 1 | 5 5 4 |
| Middlesbrough (n) | Crooks (12) Slater (10) | 3 1 | 0 0 | 0 0 | 5 3 | 4 6 |
Centre-forward McBurnie produced nine DefCons in the play-off semi-final second leg at Millwall.
FINAL WORD
With 25 attacking returns in the 2025/26 Championship, talisman McBurnie stands out as the clear player to target for those looking to invest in the Hull attack.
Priced up at £5.5m, the penalty-taker could be a decent cheap option when the fixtures fall kindly, particularly if Jakirovic can add more creativity to his squad this summer.
“My first recommendation would be Oli McBurnie. 19 goals and seven assists across the regular season and play-offs (including the stoppage time winner in the play-off final), makes him the talisman of the team, and he has both developed as a player and matured as an individual since his previous Premier League stint for Sheffield United. McBurnie is also on penalties.” – Danny
McBurnie underperformed his xG in each of his last four seasons in the top-flight, so there are a few lingering doubts about his ability to deliver at the highest level.
| Season | Club | Starts (sub apps) | Goals | xG | xG delta |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | Sheff Utd | 15 (6) | 6 | 6.89 | -0.89 |
| 2020/21 | Sheff Utd | 12 (11) | 1 | 3.88 | -2.88 |
| 2019/20 | Sheff Utd | 24 (12) | 6 | 7.72 | -1.72 |
| 2017/18 | Swansea | 2 (9) | 0 | 0.42 | -0.42 |
Still, McBurnie’s shot map (see image below)/box presence under Jakirovic offers optimism that he can perform and potentially emulate the success of promoted forwards such as Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.0m) and Zian Flemming from last season.
In midfield, we probably need to wait and see if a hierarchy develops.
Crooks and Slater are both £4.5m, making them potential bench fodder options, but there’s seemingly a big squad overhaul on the way, which may shift the midfield landscape. Indeed, Hidemasa Morita (£5.0m) has already arrived, adding further depth.
There probably doesn’t need to be a rush to invest in Hull’s players anyway, considering the first five fixtures:
From Gameweek 6 onwards, however, McBurnie and co have a much more favourable run of matches.
It allows Fantasy managers time to monitor their performances closely, before considering their players further down the line, should they prove to be worthy options, of course.
Away from the fixtures, there are valid reasons to have uncertainty about Hull’s ability to compete at this level, but much will hinge on their incoming transfer business this summer.
