Hull - the new Leicester? “Hull City” – “Leicester”: announcement of the match Hull City Leicester on August 13

Today I am making a forecast for the first match of the English Premier League of the 2016-17 season between the Hull and Leicester teams. The game should turn out to be interesting and dynamic, because every team, no matter what its level, with the beginning of the new season is trying to start all over again and do everything possible to spend the upcoming season with dignity. Therefore, I believe that each of the teams will play, giving all their strength to show themselves.

Hull achieved promotion to the Premier League this season, having had rather mediocre results in the Championship. And yet, the “tigers” succeeded, which speaks only in favor of this club. The team is very difficult, with character, ready to fight to the last. I don’t think it will be easy for the “Foxes” to tame the “Tigers” in their own field, since in their debut match in the Premier League, Hull will want to show that it was not by chance that they ended up in England’s top football league. If you pay attention to the statistics of head-to-head meetings between these two clubs, they are rather in favor of Hull. However, I think that you shouldn’t pay too much attention to the statistics, since during the previous meetings of these clubs, Leicester was a team of a different level than it is now. Now, being the current champion of England, Leicester faces tasks of a different nature.

According to Leicester coach Claudio Ranieri, the main task of his players in the new season is to score 40 points in the season. This task is quite difficult, given how most of the strong teams in the Premier League have been strengthened by new star players and top coaches (Mourinho, Guardiola, Wenger, etc.). In the new season, Leicester has a lot of competition, so there is no talk of a new championship yet. I am glad that Ranieri understands this and sensibly assesses the capabilities of his club in the upcoming season. So the first game against Hull is a good opportunity for Leicester to start picking up points. I think that the Foxes must do everything possible to ensure victory in this match. The team has all the necessary prerequisites for this: a competent coach, invaluable experience of last season’s victories, an acquired high level of play, strong defense, effective players in the attack line (Vardy, Musa, etc.), new promising players and motivation. Today, Leicester plays at a radically different level than that of top teams, as demonstrated by its last Super Cup game against Manchester United.

I think that Leicester must win this game in order to get the three points it needs so much. The level of the opponent is only conducive to such a task for the team for this match. Watching Leicester's recent games, I was pleasantly surprised by the wide range of assists and the team's ability to create scoring chances. I think that in this match the “foxes” will please us with two goals scored.

I wish you all good luck and interesting football!

August 13, 2016. 14:30. Kingston upon Hull. Kingston Communications Stadium
English Championship. 1st round

Hull - Leicester

Where to look:"Football 1", "Match! Football 1"

Disqualified: Robert Huth (Leicester)

Injured: Allan McGregor, Michael Dawson, Moses Odubajo, Alex Bruce (all Hull)

Hull - Leicester: bookmaker odds

The English Championship will open with a match between the main contender for relegation and the current national champion. Why did Hull immediately, even before the start of the tournament, acquire such an unenviable status? It's simple. The fact is that the leadership of the “tigers” did not lift a finger in order to do anything to maintain a residence permit in the Premier League. On the eve of the start of the championship, Hull lost its head coach, Steve Bruce, who personified the success of the team in recent years. A replacement for the 55-year-old specialist has still not been found, so his assistant Mike Phelan was completing the Tigers’ preparations for the season.

In principle, Sir Alex Ferguson's former assistant at Manchester United, given the current circumstances, is an ideal candidate for the vacant position. He knows the players very well and knows their capabilities well. But Phelan doesn’t have enough players of the required class to successfully fight for survival. Hull are the only Premier League club that has not yet acquired a single player. And the composition of the “tigers”, even by the standards of the Championship, was far from the strongest. In addition, the club sold one of its leaders, Mohamed Diame, to Newcastle. Last season, the Senegal national team midfielder played 41 matches in the Championship, scored 10 goals and provided four assists.

Hull - Leicester: estimated line-ups

Diame is not the only major loss for the Tigers ahead of the start of the season. Team captain and defensive pillar Michael Dawson (35 matches, 1 goal) was out for a long period (about three months). Main goalkeeper Allan McGregor (44 matches) and central defender Alex Bruce (11 matches) are forced to miss six months. And right back Moses Odubajo (45 matches, 4 assists) is also in the hospital. Mike Phelan doesn’t have any illusions about the team’s successful performance either. " Many players have been out for a long time, we lack performers. Of course we need strengthening", the specialist said at the pre-match press conference.

And all this against the background of Leicester, which is successful in everything. Claudio Ranieri’s team carried out full preparations for the new season, tested themselves in matches with the best clubs in Europe (Barcelona, ​​PSG), retained all the leaders, with the exception of N’Golo Kante, and strengthened themselves quite well. Of the team's newcomers, Spaniard Luis Hernandez has a good chance of playing in the upcoming match, who is expected to replace the suspended Robert Huth in the center of defense (at the end of the previous season he received a 3-match ban for unsportsmanlike behavior in the game against Manchester United). It is also possible that Nampalis Mendy will appear from the first minutes, who in this case will replace the veteran Andy King, as well as Ahmed Musa, in the supporting zone.

Hull - Leicester: author's forecast

As for me, the outcome of the upcoming match is obvious - Leicester’s victory (for example, 2:0). It is difficult to imagine how the “tigers” can take points from the “foxes”. In addition, I note that Leicester did not lose to Hull in any of the five previous matches (three wins, two draws). It is also worth noting that the Premier League champions had previously never lost in their opening match - 19 wins and 4 draws. And lastly, if Claudio wins, Ranieri will become the fifth foreign coach in history to reach 100 victories in the Premier League.

2nd round

"SE" highlights the main points from the 2nd round of the Premier League.

POGBA. FIRST ACTION

The French diamond could not play in the first round due to disqualification, but on the eve of the match with Southampton Jose Mourinho hinted Old Trafford should prepare to celebrate return Pogba. The multi-million-dollar midfielder started and made more passes in 90 minutes than any other United player. But what was the Frenchman’s first action on the field! Pogba received a pass in the opposing half of the field and... missed the ball, becoming the culprit of Southampton's counterattack.

Fortunately, everything worked out: error Pogba few people remembered, because he and everyone else were eclipsed by the one who completed the double Ibrahimovic. The Swede could have left the field with a hat-trick, but at the end of the match Pogba did not share the ball with him. “Next time, give me a pass,” Zlatan ordered after the match, either jokingly or seriously.

GUARDIOLA IS JUST A SONG

“Pep Guardiola, Pep Guardiola,” came over “Britain” at the end of the match between "Stoke" And "Manchester city". The Catalan played only his third match at the head of the “citizens”, and the fans have already composed a simple song based on his name. How could it be otherwise, if in the second match in a week “City” crushes the opponent on the road, and even with such a game margin? Doubles Nolito And Aguero helped the "citizens" achieve an easy victory and take the lead in the Premier League table ("City" surpasses "United" in the number of goals scored).

True, City fans didn’t like everything that day: “Don’t sell Joe Hart,” the fans chanted during the warm-up, looking at the team’s new number two. And even the third - Claudio Bravo is already on his way to Manchester, and in the next round the Chilean will probably play for City. Well, the main goalkeeper England team is likely to go to Everton.

"HUL" IS IN GOOD COMPANY

Apart from the two Manchester clubs, the only ones who have not lost points this season are Chelsea And "Hull". The Blues secured victory for the second game in a row thanks to a late goal Diego Costa, having overcome "Watford" with a score of 2:1. It must be Walter Mazzarri hates the color blue: in February 2012 he "Napoli" conceded Chelsea Roberto Di Matteo on aggregate in the 1/8 finals of the Champions League, although after the first meeting he had a solid advantage over the Londoners. Now it’s a 1:2 defeat, although by the 80th minute Watford was winning.

The fourth leader is a surprise. "Hull" won two victories out of two - this time away from Swansea- and gained a foothold in the Champions League zone. Only up to the "tigers" "To Bolton" managed to score two victories at the start after being promoted, but it will be difficult to get a third - on Saturday they will visit Hull "Manchester United". However, the experience of last season suggests that miracles can happen. So even a team that has no head coach, no new recruits, and no good relationship between owner and fans can make a splash.

By the way, to win "Halla" In the Premier League, bookmakers offer odds of 1501.00. Will you take the risk?

MUSA REMAINED WITHOUT A PENALTY

"Leicester" was playing a home match for the first time this season, and on this occasion the fans staged a colorful performance. For England, such promotions are rare, so it is worth special mentioning the work of fans of the English champions.

Leicester’s mosaic before kick-off dedicated to last season.

Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) August 20, 2016

It's a pity that the players let us down - the match between "Leicester" And "Arsenal" was little like the meeting between the two best clubs of last season and ended in a dull draw. The teams created little, were slow to think - in a word, they demonstrated their own weakness at the start of the season. No one deserved to win, but in the endgame of the match Leicester could have had the opportunity to score: Musa in his signature style, he evaded the "foxes" along the flank and collapsed in someone else's penalty area after obvious contact with Bellerin. However Mark Clattenburg- the referee who officiated at the recent finals of the FA Cup, Champions League and Euro, threw up his hands.

It is already clear which team’s matches you should never bet on. This "Liverpool". The Reds ended the off-season with a rout "Barcelona" 4:0 and defeat from "Mainz" with the same score and were not cured before the start. A bright and promising victory at the Emirates was followed by a shock defeat at Burnley. The Burgundy team defended in the best traditions of philosophy. Kurbana Berdyeva- Liverpool had the ball 80% of the time and struck 26 shots, but all the visitors' efforts were in vain. “It’s okay,” he sighed. Jürgen Klopp, looking at the statistics. “There are different ways to play football.” This defeat could affect Liverpool's entire season: "Burnley" clearly showed how to play against the “reds”.

WEST HAM OPENED STADIUM

The Olympic Games ended on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro, and for "West Ham" A new era has begun at the Olympic Stadium. This was the Hammers' third first match: in early August, the Hammers lost in the opening match of the stadium "Juventus", and three days before they won "Domzale" within the qualifying round of the Europa League. Now West Ham were celebrating their first league game in their new home. The celebration was a success: although the game was unimpressive, the goal Antonio in the endgame of the meeting with "Bournemouth" brought the Hammers three points. For some reason, the English midfielder celebrated the historic goal with a dance reminiscent of the Macarena.

Manchester United - Southampton - 2:0 (1:0). Goals: Ibrahimovic, 36 (1:0). Ibrahimovic, 52 - from the penalty spot (2:0).
Stoke City - Manchester City - 1:4 (0:2). Goals: Aguero, 27 - from the penalty spot (0:1). Aguero, 36 (0:2). Krkic, 49 - from the penalty spot (1:2). Nolito, 86 (1:3). Nolito, 90+5 (1:4).
Burnley - Liverpool - 2:0 (2:0). Goals: Vokes 2 (1:0). Gray, 37 (2:0).
Swansea - Hull City - 0:2 (0:0). Goals: Maloney 79 (0:1). Hernandez, 90+2 (0:2).
West Bromwich Albion - Everton - 1:2 (1:1). Goals: Macauley, 9 (1:0). Mirallas, 45+2 (1:1). Barry, 60 (1:2).
Watford - Chelsea - 1:2 (0:0). Goals: Capue, 55 (1:0). Batshuayi 80 (1:1). Diego Costa, 87 (1:2).
Tottenham - Crystal Palace - 1:0 (0:0). Goal: Wanyama, 82.
Leicester - Arsenal - 0:0.
Sunderland - Middlesbrough - 1:2 (0:2). Goals: Stuani, 13 (0:1). Stuani, 45 (0:2). van Aanholt 71 (1:2).
West Ham - Bournemouth - 1:0 . Goal: Antonio, 85. Removal: Arter (B), 77.

Hull City - Leicester City

Stadium: KC (Kingstone upon Hull)

Start of the match: 14:30

Arbitrator: Mike Dean

Last year's sensational Premier League champion Leicester City will begin its campaign in the new season with a match against Hull City, which a year later returned to the elite, justifying its status as a "lift team".

The success of Claudio Ranieri's team last season excited and raised the ears of the entire world sports community. The sensational championship showed that football is not only ruled by money, and that major tournaments can be won through discipline, organization and the enormous dedication of the players on the field.

For the Foxes, before the start of the season, the main thing was to retain their leaders, further strengthening some positions for the Champions League. They have partially succeeded because Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and Kasper Schmeichel remain in the team. But they couldn’t keep N’golo Kante; the Frenchman moved to Chelsea. It is true that the situation with Mahrez remains ambiguous.

Head coach Steve Bruce, who spent four years with the team, left Hull City this off-season. It is worth noting that the position of head coach of the Tigers still remains vacant. As a coach with the prefix "acting" Bruce's assistant, Mike Phelan, prepared the team for the start of the season. There are rumors that Chris Coleman, who successfully worked at Euro 2016 with the Wales national team, could lead the Tigers, but he is probably waiting for more tempting offers.

Interesting facts about the confrontation between Hull City and Leicester City:

Statistics of head-to-head meetings between teams are on the side of the “tigers”, 28 victories for Hull versus 26 for Leicester.

The last match between the teams was played on October 27 last year in the 4th round of the League Cup, where Bruce's team managed to beat the Blues in a penalty shootout.

The last meeting of the teams in the Premier League ended in a 0:0 draw.

In the last meeting at the Tigers' home stadium in the Premier League, Leicester managed to win with a score of 1:0.

Approximate lineups for the game:

Hull: Jakupovic, Al-Muhammadi, Huddlestone, Davis, Robertson, Snodgrass, Meyler, Livermore, Clucas, Diomande, Hernandez.

Leicester: Schmeichel, Simpson, Huth, Morgan, Fuchs, Mahrez, Drinkwater, King, Albrighton, Vardy, Okazaki

Summary:

Taking into account last year's championship, Leicester is approaching this match as the undisputed favourite. Despite losing the FA Super Cup match to Manchester United, the team received a fresh breath of air in the form of a contract extension until 2020 with head coach Claudio Ranieri, which should add optimism to Foxes fans.

Hull's advantage in this match may be their hometown and the support of the fans, but statistics from Leicester's 11 away wins last season indicate that the champion will probably only play to win.| http://site

The current champion of England, Leicester City, began the 2016/17 season with a defeat in an away match against Hull City.

It was difficult to imagine a better opponent for Leicester in the first match of the season. Even before their triumph in the Premier League, the “Foxes” successfully “fought” the “Tigers”, without suffering a single defeat in the last six matches. The current state of Hull also added to the confidence of the Foxes fans - the team entered the field without a coach and with 13 healthy players from the main squad. Only one real defender played in defense - Curtis Davis, and he was helped by midfielders Livermore, Robertson and Al-Muhammadi. Leicester had a combination of forwards made up of Vardy and Musa, King took Kante’s usual place in the supporting zone, and Gray went to the left flank of the attack. On the right is the best player of the past season, Riyad Mahrez.

The match at KC Stadium began with a long build-up. None of the opponents was in a hurry to run forward; the ball from out or from the goal was thrown in for half a minute and everyone was happy with it. It has always been difficult for Leicester to play against opponents like Hull, who are able to sit in deep defense for the entire match. So this time, the current champion, without much desire, was forced to perform first.

By the middle of the half, the advantage of the guests became obvious and the first dangerous moment was not long in coming. Mahrez successfully passed along the right flank, ran to the front line and rolled out to Drinkutor, who tried to hit the far corner with a technique, but missed.

Without exaggeration, the leader of the Foxes, Jamie Vardy, played a disastrous match. In the first half alone, the Englishman failed to convert three 100% chances, and in two cases Ahmed Moussa was an assistant. The ex-CSKA forward was able to show his strengths - speed and dribbling, but he lacked mutual understanding with his partners, and they often ignored him.

At the end of the first half, Leicester was obliged to open the scoring. There was a classic attack by the Foxes: Fuchs came running from the flank, played one-on-one with King and fired at point-blank range, but hit Yakupovich. The ball bounced to Vardy, who was unable to carry it into the goal due to a rushing defender, and in the final stages Mahrez scored, but his luck also ran out.

The game gradually progressed towards half-time, with the opponents rolling the ball around in the middle of the field until Hull won a corner. After Snodgrass' cross, Curtis Davis headed into the far corner, Schmeichel parried the shot with an excellent jump, but Diomande and Hernandez rushed to finish at the far post and were able to effectively turn the ball into the goal, 1-0.

It could have been assumed that during the break Ranieri would remove Gray, who, despite his activity, allowed a lot of marriage and circumcised his partners several times. However, the young Englishman remained on the field and was soon able to earn a penalty. Huddlestone fouled, the replays showed that he fouled just outside the penalty area, but Mike Dean decided to point to the mark. Mahrez approached the point and fired a powerful shot into the corner to his left, 1-1.

After Mahrez's return goal, the game calmed down a little and chances began to arise less frequently. But just ten minutes later the Tigers were able to take advantage of their second chance in an hour of play. After Schmeichel's unsuccessful clearance, the ball was returned to the penalty area, bounced to Snodgrass and the Scot struck the bottom right corner without resistance, 2-1.

Of course, the current champion should under no circumstances lose. However, last season the Foxes were very rarely in this position and therefore did not know how to overcome the dense defensive redoubts of the Tigers. Ranieri threw Okazaki, Ulloa and Amartey into the fray, but the oversaturation of the attack only led to more confusion. Before the final whistle, we can recall two dangerous shots from outside the penalty area by Mahrez and Drinkwater, which were successfully parried by Jakupovic.

The English Premier League reminds itself of its beloved already in the first match. The newcomer to the elite, who had difficulty selecting players for the first round, was able to beat the reigning champion. In the next match, Leicester will play against Arsenal, and Hull will go to visit Swansea.