This Week's Opposition: Hull City

A closer look at Pompey's next Championship opponent.

After 3 successive away matches, which brought 2 wins and most recently a defeat in midweek for Portsmouth, attention turns back to matters on home soil…

MANAGER

Bosnian manager Sergej Jakirović is in charge of The Tigers.

The 49-year-old arrived signing a 2-year contract last June with the club holding an option for a further year.

It was announced that his exit from his previous employer, Turkish outfit Kayserispor, was down to a “settlement” being agreed by both sides.

From 36 matches in charge, Jakirović has a win percentage of 47.2.

ONE TO WATCH

Leeds United loanee Joe Gelhardt is our ‘One To Watch’ this weekend.

The forward, who wears the number 21 shirt, is Hull’s second top goalscorer with 11 league strikes to his name so far this term.

He has also scored 2 cup goals - 1 apiece in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup.

Gelhardt is 23-years-of-age and has contributed to 4 league assists this campaign too - He scored the winner in the reverse of this fixture at the MKM Stadium (Hull 3-2 Pompey).

TOP SCORER

Scottish striker Oli McBurnie is the club’s leading scorer with 15 goals and 7 assists across all competitions this season.

13 of those strikes have come in the league as a product of 24 league appearances.

The 29-year-old is 3rd in the Championship goalscoring charts, just 3 behind Swansea City’s Zan Vipotnik.

McBurnie wears the number 9 shirt and signed for The Tigers on a 3-year-deal from Las Palmas in the summer, swapping the Canary Islands for the East Riding of Yorkshire.

CURRENT FORM

Hull are 5th in the Championship and just 6 points behind the automatic promotion spots with a game in hand.

They also have a 7-point cushion to 7th having played a game fewer and are looking good for a Play-Off finish.

The Tigers have, however, won just 1 of their last 5 in all competitions, beating Derby County 4-2 at home on Tuesday night after 2 defeats and a draw in the league and a 4-0 loss to Chelsea in The FA Cup.

Can the Blues get back to winning ways on their return to Fratton Park?

Tune in to Express FM from 11:30am on Saturday (February 28th) morning for the next instalment of Pompey Live, presented LIVE from Fratton Park by Jake Smith, Kirsty Roxanne and James Wilson.

Kick-off: 12:30pm!