Hull City went from Championship survival to playoff contention in the blink of an eye and currently sit 4th in the table.
The Tigers barely escaped relegation to League One last season, finishing the season in 21st place tied on points with Luton Town, who went down.
Fast forward six months, and they are currently 4th – tied on points with Ipswich town (38 each) and five behind Middlesbrough. Coventry City look uncatchable and Premier League-bound with 51 at the top.
How do Hull City play?
The chaotic nature of Sergej Jakirovic’s Tigers
If you’re looking for entertainment, Hull City are one of the most exciting watches in the Championship this season.
Their games are fast-paced and back-and-forth. Along with Bristol City, the Tigers are one of just two teams to have both created and conceded 50+ big chances. As much as they are good at getting into great goalscoring positions, they are bad at stopping opponents from doing the same.
In addition to that, they are the team whose matches have generated the most expected goals, for and against: 74.4 xG according to Opta data. Southampton are the only other side above 70 in this regard (71.1 xG).
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And it’s impressive how efficient they are. Hull only rank 18th in shot attempts (11.4 per match), but whenever they shoot, it’s dangerous.
The Tigers are first in each of the following attacking stats in the Championship:
- 6.7 shots per goal scored (including blocks)
- 51% big chance conversion rate
- 0.12 expected goals per shot attempt
Not to mention that only leaders Coventry have scored more goals (54) than them (39). They also have the third highest expected goals overperformance in the league (+6.8).
At the same time, just a +2 goal difference and the second worst defence (37 goals conceded), ahead only of relegation-bound, crisis-mode and negative-points Sheffield Wednesday.
January transfer window worries
This is actually why the upcoming month of January will be so important. Forward Joe Gelhardt has been arguably their best player so far, leading the team in goals (10 from just 6.2 xG).
The 23-year-old is finally turning into the player many expected seeing him at Wigan and Leeds in previous years. He still belongs to the Whites and is surely attracting attention from other clubs.
This is his second loan spell at MKM Stadium and they will be lucky to have him until the end of the season. Considering how he’s played so far, it wouldn’t surprise if a bigger team came knocking.
The same can be said about Charlie Hughes, who also came through the ranks at Wigan Athletic. The 22-year-old is the prototypical modern centre-back, boasting personality to carry the ball forward and play line-breaking passes.
He is also solid in the air (67% success rate in aerial duels) and in one-on-one situations (74% in such defensive duels).
Veteran Oli McBurnie has also chipped in going forward, bagging nine goals in 14 league games so far. If a Premier League team is looking for a good back-up target man to strengthen the squad in the upcoming weeks, he could be an easy name to chase.
Other standout players
Luckily for them, yet another former Wigan attacking talent is also starting to blossom in the second tier. Kyle Joseph had underwhelming spells in the Championship in 2024-25 for Hull and 2021-22 at Swansea City.
Before that, however, he was making his name as a solid, reliable option in League One with Oxford United and Blackpool. He is still 24 years old and could thrive taking on more responsibility should that be the case – currently has six goals in 22 games.
Defender Ryan Giles is also an interesting profile. He failed to meet expectations when Middlesbrough signed him on loan from Hull earlier in the year, going 12 games without a goal or assist.
Now, back at the MKM, the left-back looks fresher and reborn under Jakirovic. The 25-year-old leads the Championship in assists (8, alongside West Bromwich Albion’s Mickey Johnston) and is a constant presence down the left side.
Hull will certainly hope to be able to survive the January transfer window without major blows. But even if their form drops and they fall off the playoff spots, it won’t take away from this first half of the season and what Sergej Jakirovic has done to turn things around.
They last featured in the Premier League in 2016-17, facing relegation during Marco Silva’s first taste of English football. Their return may come sooner rather than later the way things are looking like right now – even if it doesn’t happen this season. The Tigers look to be on the right track.