🏏 Sat, 19 Sep 2026 15:00 BST
Newcastle United
vs
Hull City
4-2-3-1 vs 5-4-1
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- Newcastle, 12th on five points, host a Hull City side sitting fifth on eight and still unbeaten after four matches. The early-season pecking order has been inverted: it is Hull who sit in the group chasing Arsenal's 12 points at the top. For Newcastle this is a direct chance to wipe out a three-point gap, and defeat would leave them treading water in the lower half.
- Hull's numbers are remarkable. Two wins, two draws, and only two goals conceded in four games — and both of those arrived in the same afternoon, a 2-2 draw at Chelsea in round four. Before that they beat Manchester United 2-0 at home, won 1-0 at Coventry and shut out Aston Villa in a goalless home draw: three consecutive clean sheets. Five goals scored is modest, but they simply do not break.
- Newcastle have the opposite problem, shipping eight goals in four for a goal difference of minus one. At home they were pegged back to 2-2 draws by both Liverpool and Bournemouth, and in round four they were beaten 4-1 at Leeds. Their only victory came away at Tottenham, 2-0. Turning home draws into home wins against one of the meanest defences in the division is a stiff assignment.
- The shapes make this a genuine tactical puzzle. Newcastle go 4-2-3-1; Hull line up 5-4-1 with a back five. That five carries real height in 193cm Semi Ajayi, the 32-year-old with Nigeria caps who came through Arsenal's academy before establishing himself at West Brom, and 33-year-old Republic of Ireland veteran John Egan, alongside 19-year-old Australia international Lucas Herrington, also 193cm, a Brisbane Roar graduate and U-20 Asian Cup winner. Finding a route through a packed central area is Newcastle's puzzle to solve.
- Yoane Wissa leads the line for the hosts. The 30-year-old DR Congo international set Brentford's Premier League scoring record after arriving via Lorient and Angers, and finishes with either foot. At 176cm, though, he is not going to win a straight aerial contest with two 193cm centre-backs, so his acceleration and his runs in behind will have to be the weapon.
- The flanks should be lively. Harvey Barnes, 28, still has the explosive first five yards he built his reputation on at Leicester, cutting in from the left onto his right foot. Opposite him is 31-year-old Jacob Murphy, a Norwich product whose crossing helped Newcastle to the 2025 Carabao Cup. Hull's wing-backs are Ryan Giles, 26, a Wolves academy graduate hardened by loans at Coventry, Rotherham and Middlesbrough and one of the most prolific crossers in the EFL, and Louie Coyle, 30 and only 173cm but relentless up and down the right.
- Newcastle's midfield mixes generations. Sean Steure, the 18-year-old two-footed technician signed from Ajax for around £23m, was bought as the centrepiece of a rebuild following Tonali's exit. Beside him is Joe Willock, 27, an Arsenal academy graduate who once scored in seven consecutive league games while on loan. Further back, 20-year-old Lewis Miley — a Premier League debutant at 16 — starts in defence, which says plenty about how much is being asked of the club's young players.
- Hull's midfield four is an EFL-forged unit. Sorba Thomas, 27, climbed out of non-league Boreham Wood to Huddersfield and on to 23 Wales caps, with 12 Championship assists in 2021-22 along the way. Matt Crooks, 32 and 191cm, pushed towards double figures at Rotherham and Middlesbrough and has a spell at Real Salt Lake on his CV. Regan Slater, 27, is the Sheffield United product who covers the ground, while 24-year-old Mohamed Belloumi — son of the great Algerian Lakhdar Belloumi — arrived by way of MC Oran and Farense in Portugal.
- The goalkeeping comparison is worth a look. Lukáš Horníček, 24 and 198cm, moved to Braga in a record deal out of Pardubice and is viewed as Newcastle's long-term number one; the fact that England's Nick Pope, also 198cm and 34, begins on the bench tells its own story about a changing of the guard. Hull's Konstantinos Tzolakis, 23 and 193cm, cost a club-record fee of around £20m from Olympiacos after 131 appearances, four Greek league titles and the 2024 UEFA Conference League.
- Both benches lean young. Newcastle can call on 20-year-old Bazoumana Touré, who travelled from ASEC Mimosas in Abidjan via Hammarby and Hoffenheim, and 20-year-old Aladji Bamba out of Monaco's academy, balanced by 34-year-old Switzerland international Fabian Schär. Hull answer with Joe Gelhardt, the left-footed 24-year-old on loan from Leeds, Lucas Gourna-Douath, 23, a league winner with Red Bull Salzburg, and 19-year-old Robinio Vaz, who made his Ligue 1 debut at 17 with Marseille.