Stoke City v Hull City: Meyler focused on maintaining resurgence

Stoke City will look to end Hull City’s three-game unbeaten run in the Premier League when they meet at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.

Hull City will look to continue their Premier League resurgence this weekend at Stoke City.

Steve Bruce’s side tumbled down the table following 10 games without a win from mid-October to the end of December and had been in the bottom three before finding form earlier this month. 

Successive wins against fellow strugglers Aston Villa and QPR have propelled Hull four points clear of the danger zone, with recent signing Dame N’Doye making an immediate impact.

The Senegal international striker – who joined from Lokomotiv Moscow on deadline day – has netted the decisive goal in Hull’s last two matches and will lead the line again on Saturday.

“We’ve managed to put back-to-back Premier League victories together which is brilliant,” said midfielder David Meyler. “We’ve got Stoke next and we’re all focused on that now. We need to keep building. 

“We’ve got seven points from our last three games, let’s try and make it 10 from four now.”

Hull’s away form has yet to have the injection of confidence, so they travel to Stoke with just two wins and 11 points on their travels all season.

The Britannia Stadium is not a happy hunting ground for Hull, having have never won at the ground in the Premier League and after failing to score in their last two visits.

It has not been the fortress it once was for Stoke this season, though, with surprising defeats to Villa, Leicester City and Burnley already.

“It is going to be a very difficult game for us and we all know that,” Stoke midfielder Glenn Whelan told the club’s official website. 

“They have won their last two games against teams in and around them in the table, and even before that they went to Manchester City and picked up a superb point. 

“They will come here full of confidence and determined to keep this little run going. 

“We will treat the fixture exactly the same as we would if we were playing one of the top two or three sides. 

“They command that respect because they have proven Premier League players who are capable of hurting any team in the league. 

“We are just focussed on ourselves though right now and we know that if we can play to our maximum then we are more than a match for any team.” 

The hosts have no new injury worries after their last-gasp victory over Villa last weekend, with Marc Muniesa, Bojan Krkic and Ryan Shawcross still out of contention.

Hull also have long-term absentees in Mohamed Diame and Richard Snodgrass, while James Chester is expected to miss out again as he recovers from a dislocated shoulder.