Hull City players challenged to impress ahead of Sunderland Carabao Cup tie

Hull City players have been told they have to fight to earn a place in Sergej Jakirović’s starting eleven as the Tigers head coach considers making changes for Tuesday’s Carabao Cup third round tie against Sunderland.

Last season’s Championship play-off final winners have enjoyed a positive return to the Premier League after collecting seven points from home games against Manchester United and Aston Villa and an away day at fellow top flight newcomers Coventry City. What makes that feat even more impressive is the fact Jakirović’s men remain the only Premier League club that hasn’t conceded a goal in their opening three games of the campaign.

The only goal conceded across all competitions came during a 1-1 draw with Stoke City in the previous round of the Carabao Cup as the Tigers came through a penalty shoot-out to avoid what would have been a surprise defeat against their former Championship opponents. After making 18 signings during the summer transfer window, Jakirović has been able to rotate his squad during the opening weeks of the season and he looks set to follow a similar path when his side visit the Stadium of Light on Tuesday. Tigers assistant manager Dean Holden dropped a major hint a number of changes could be made in the aftermath of the weekend draw against Villa - but insisted the rotating policy will give players a chance to stake a claim for a regular spot in the line-up ahead of a busy few weeks.

‘They have a fight on to get hold of that shirt’

The Tigers number two told Hull Live: "I don't know exactly [how many changes] but we'll see how they come through the session today. There will be changes, Sergej proved that in the first game, he said it's a good opportunity to get minutes into players who need to get up to speed. There's a lot of players who have come through the door in the transfer window and they need valuable minutes. You saw in that first game, there was a lot of changes and we still got a positive result which has been great actually for the chemistry of the group.”

He continued: "Going back to last season, Sergej will rotate and change depending on the opponent in front of us. The boys that have got the shirt at the moment are doing well enough to keep hold of it, but certainly everybody who gets a chance will have to stake a claim to get in and that's the exciting thing for us. We have a lot of new and young players who have joined the group who weren't with us last season but they have a fight on to get hold of that shirt. That's what you want, competition for places all over the pitch."

Holden confirmed Matt Crooks and Tim Iroegbunam are likely to be in the Tigers squad for the game - but news is awaited over the fitness of former Sunderland star Paddy McNair as Hull await results from a scan on a foot injury.

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