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Hull City welcome Manchester United to the MKM Stadium on Saturday afternoon for the club’s first Premier League match in nine years.

Sergej Jakirovic’s team head into the game with real encouragement after a summer of major spending, though a lengthy injury list has slightly lowered expectations ahead of the season opener. It has been a long nine-year wait, and Hull fans have been looking forward to this moment ever since the play-off final victory at Wembley in May.

Hull have several players unavailable. Jack Butland is ruled out after elbow surgery, Eliot Matazo is sidelined with a knee injury, and Darko Gyabi is absent because of a groin issue. Oscar Zambrano, one of the club’s summer signings, will also miss out with a thigh problem and is expected to be unavailable for at least a month.

Charlie Hughes is still recovering from groin surgery and does not yet have a definite return date, while fellow new arrival Joe Gelhardt is likely to be out for around three weeks with an ankle injury. Hidemasa Morita is unavailable due to a calf complaint, although he could feature in next week’s EFL Cup match. Cody Drameh and Matty Jacob will both be assessed before a final call is made on whether they can be involved.

Club-record signing Nobel Mendy, who joined from Rayo Vallecano, is expected to make his debut in central defence. Goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis is also set to start, while Jens Hjerto-Dahl and Elliot Stroud are in contention to make their first appearances for the club as well.

Regan Slater and Matt Crooks are expected to sit at the base of midfield, with Mohamed Belloumi offering width. Oli McBurnie, who scored 19 goals in all competitions last season and netted the winner in the play-off final, is set to lead the line. Semi Ajayi and Matt Targett are likely to complete the defence alongside Mendy and Lewie Coyle.

Hull City possible starting XI (4-2-3-1): Tzolakis; Coyle, Ajayi, Mendy, Targett; Slater, Crooks; Belloumi, Hjerto-Dahl, Stroud; McBurnie

The Premier League fixture is scheduled to kick off at 12:30 BST on Saturday, 22 August 2026.

In the UK, the match will be shown live on TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate and HBO Max.