In this Half-Term report series, we look at how all the top-flight players and teams have fared so far.
Here, we focus on Hull City, who are an impressive eighth after five matches.
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RESULTS SO FAR
| GW | Result | Hull’s xG | Hull’s xGC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hull 2-0 Man Utd | 1.01 | 1.83 |
| 2 | Coventry 0-1 Hull | 0.72 | 1.29 |
| 3 | Hull 0-0 Aston Villa | 0.57 | 1.93 |
| 4 | Chelsea 2-2 Hull | 1.38 | 0.91 |
| 5 | Newcastle 2-1 Hull | 1.59 | 1.44 |
After their promotion via the play-offs, Hull have defied expectations so far, with a superb eight points from five matches.
They beat Manchester United 2-0 on the opening weekend and haven’t looked back since, with another win over Coventry City in Gameweek 2, followed by impressive draws against Aston Villa and Chelsea.
Their only defeat to date came from a 2-1 loss (arguably an undeserved one) to Newcastle United before the international break.
Hull’s direct approach has seen them score six goals from a modest 5.27 expected goals (xG).
However, their defence could give them a platform to maintain their early form, having conceded only four times from 7.39 expected goals conceded (xGC).
XG/XGC RANK V OTHER TEAMS
| Total | Rank v other clubs | |
|---|---|---|
| xG | 5.27 | 17th |
| xGC | 7.39 | 10th |
LINE-UP LESSONS
Hull completed deals for a whopping 18 players over the summer.
However, Sergej Jakirovic has mostly relied on the core group of players who won promotion. He’s kept a settled XI, too, although good form has obviously partly dictated that.
Konstantinos Tzolakis (£4.7m), John Egan (£4.1m), Semi Ajayi (£4.2m), Lewie Coyle (£4.0m), Ryan Giles (£4.0m), Ryan Slater (£4.5m), Mohamed Belloumi (£5.1m) and Oli McBurnie (£5.5m) have started every match in Jakirovic’s 5-4-1 formation.
Nobel Mendy (£4.1m) only missed out in Gameweek 5 due to concussion, so he also would have likely remained an ever-present starter were it not for that.
Sorba Thomas (£5.5m) ousted Elliot Stroud (£5.0m) from the left wing in Gameweek 5, in a change that had been coming.
The central midfield spot next to Slater has been the one volatile position. Matt Crooks (£4.4m), Lucas Gourna-Douath (£5.0m) and Hidemasa Morita (£4.9m) have all started there, while Tim Iroegbunam (£5.0m) replaced Crooks at half-time in Gameweek 5.
SET-PIECE TAKERS
| Corners | Belloumi (6), Slater (5), Giles (4), Cho (1), Gelhardt (1) |
| Crosses from free-kicks | Belloumi (1), Slater (1), Giles (1) |
| Shots from direct free-kicks | n/a |
| Penalties | n/a |
Belloumi and Slater have been the main players on set plays so far but £4.0m defender Giles took over from Slater in Gameweek 5.
The Tigers have yet to win a penalty in 2026/27 but McBurnie should be first in line.
TOP PLAYERS FOR DEFCONS
