Hull City vs Man United Premier League Tips & Prediction - Tough opening test for Hull

Andrew Hendrie

Editor

Last updated: Fri 21 Aug 2026 04:53

Andrew Hendrie 21 Aug 2026

Share this article

Hull City vs Man United predictions for Saturday's EPL Round 1 game
Early kick-off for Aussie fans, with Socceroos youngster Lucas Herrington a chance to feature for Hull
United tipped for a comfortable win on the road, scoring 3+ goals vs weak Hull defence
The game is scheduled for kick off at 9.30pm AEST on Saturday August 22

Expired

Hull City vs Man United Premier League Tips & Prediction

Hull were extremely fortunate to earn promotion back to the Premier League and ranked in the bottom four in goals conceded in the Championship last term. Man United finished last term strongly and are expected to come away with a big win on the road to begin the season - although their own defence remains suspect, offering the Tigers a chance to get on the scoresheet in defeat.

Hull City vs Man United Premier League Tips & Prediction
Hull vs Man United Stats & Trends
Hull vs Man United Head To Head
Hull City Form Analysis
Hull City Team News
Man United Form Analysis
Man United Team News

I mean, you make your own luck, but it can't be overstated enough how fortuitous Hull's promotion back into the Premier League was.

Hull had the fourth-worst defence in the Championship last term, conceding 66 goals in 46 games. For more context, Oxford United - who finished 22nd and were relegated - leaked seven less. The Tigers were also the first team to earn promotion after finishing the regular season in sixth spot on the ladder in 16 years. Perhaps new Socceroos signing Lucas Herrington can make a difference...

Throw in a host of injury problems before the start of the season and Hull will do well not to be embarrassed in their return to the top flight.

United registered more points than any side since the turn of the year, finishing last season strongly under Michael Carrick, while they've bolstered their midfield with the arrivals of Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, while Carlos Baleba is also on the verge of signing from Brighton.

The Red Devils also had the third-best away record last year and are traditionally dominant on opening matchdays. I'm taking United to be leading at half-time/full-time and to score 3+ goals - but Hull can sneak a goal against a defence that remains vulnerable. Bruno Fernandes remains the main man for assists and can get off the mark for the new season here.

Hull vs Man United Stats & Trends

Hull conceded 66 goals in 46 Championship games last term
Hull's last 11 EPL defeats were by 2+ goal margins
United have seen BTTS in 13 of their last 17 away league games
United conceded 50 goals in 38 EPL games last season
United saw a league-high 119 goals in their games last season
Bruno Fernandes broke the all-time EPL record for most assists in a season with 21 last term
Fernandes' first six assists of last season were on the road

Hull vs Man United Head To Head

Hull are winless in the 10 previous EPL meetings between the teams, losing eight - although their most-recent clash in 2017 ended in a 0-0 stalemate.

Hull City Form Analysis

Hull made an incredible late-season dash for the playoffs before conquering Millwall and Middlesbrough to secure promotion back to the Premier League for the first time since 2017.

Ollie McBurnie was the hero for Hull, scoring 18 goals throughout the season - including the winner in the playoff final against Boro in the 95th minute.

Sergej Jakirovic's side went winless in their final three friendlies in preseason, including a most-recent 0-0 draw with Nice.

Hull City Team News

Hull obviously realised they needed to significantly bolster their squad to have any chance of survival this season, signing 11 players over the summer.

Nobel Mendy was arguably the biggest arrival, while 18-year-old Socceroos defender Lucas Herrington also signed on following a whirlwind last 12 months, where he went from the A-League, to the MLS, to the World Cup and now onto the Premier League.

Herrington only started training with Hull last week, so he may have to settle for a spot on the bench here, but I'd expect him to force his way into the starting side over the next month.

But there's lots of injury concerns for Hull, with Eliot Matazo, Darko Gyabi, Jack Butland, Oscar Zambrano, Charlie Hughes, Joe Gelhardt and Hidemasa Morita all sidelined, while Cody Drameh and Matty Jacob face late fitness tests.

Possible Hull Starting XI: (4-2-3-1): Konstantinos Tzolakis; Lewie Coyle, Semi Ajayi, Nobel Mendy, Matt Targett; Regan Slater, Matt Crooks; Mohamed Belloumi, Jens Hjerto-Dahl, Elliot Stroud; Oli McBurnie.

Man United Form Analysis

It was an outstanding end to the season for United last term, with Michael Carrick guiding the club to a third-place finish and a return to Champions League football this campaign.

It will be interesting to see how United handle juggling Champions League duties, as there's a case to be made they benefitted from no European football last term.

With Ipswich at home next week, this is an excellent chance for United to get off to a strong start and set an early pace.

The Red Devils ended their preseason with a 4-2 defeat against AC Milan, but beat the likes of Rosenborg, Atletico Madrid and Leeds United and drew with PSG earlier.

Man United Team News

Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Karl Darlow have all joined in the summer, with Carlos Baleba also set to arrive shortly.

Matthijs de Ligt and Manuel Ugarte are both sidelined, while Mason Mount is racing the clock to be fit.

Benjamin Sesko is back training, but hasn't featured for United since the end of last season, with Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha expected to start in the final third.

Possible Man United Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Senne Lammens; Diogo Dalot, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw; Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos; Amad Diallo, Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Cunha; Bryan Mbeumo