HULL IN NUMBERS | OPPOSITION ANALYSIS OF HULL CITY FC

This is my first attempt at an article of this kind so I would really appreciate it if you could share your honest feedback by tweeting me @cl_ftbl

Hull City booked their place into the Championship play-off final as they ran out 3-2 winners on aggregate against Derby County over two legs. Despite a 2-0 home defeat in the second leg, their efforts in the first proved to be enough where they secured a 3-0 victory at the iPro Stadium. The purpose of this post is to analyse the threat Hull City pose through their playing style and identification of key players. Hull finished the league in 4th position as the fourth top scorers in the league with the second best defence in the division. (only Middlesbrough conceded fewer goals)

Formation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hull’s formation is apparent from the Season Passing Network operating in a 433 formation with Hernandez the most advanced central striker, supported by Snodgrass and Elmohamady on the left and right respectively. You can expect to see Huddlestone as the deepest lying of the three midfielders playing as a pivot allowing Livermore and Diame to get forward and support Hernandez. Snodgrass has spent a lot of the season playing on the right but has recently switched to the left as Clucas dropped out with Elmohamady his replacement. The fullbacks will tirelessly get forward with Robertson on the left who is technically very good and Odubajo on the right who is equally as good but has a more direct approach and is comfortable on both feet.

Playing Style

Hull like the to get the ball out wide quickly and utilise the attacking abilities of their full backs. Odubajo and Robertson will get forward at almost every opportunity and the threat of Elmohamady coupled with Odubajo on the right is an area Hull will look to exploit. The exploitation of the flanks is backed up with the solidity of the midfield who are all 6 foot plus with proven Premier League experience. Hull will look to use this physicality to dominate the midfield so it’s crucial this threat is managed. Late forward runs from the midfield trio are also a threat especially from Diame who has weighed in with 8 goals and 4 assists this season.

Diame goal from supporting run

Goal Locations

The goal chart below shows the location of all Hull City’s goals this season. As you can see 92% of Hull’s goals came from inside the box with 59.4% coming from the right hand side of the goal and 40.6% coming from the left.

Hull Goal Locations

Assist Locations

The Assist chart below shows the assist locations joined with a line to where the eventual goalscorer collects the ball. The chart shows a lot of balls from the left to the right which explains why 59.4% of Hull’s goals have come from the right hand side of the field.

Hull Assist Locations

Robertson Assist Left-to-Right

Key Players

The Goal scoring table gives a clear indication of Hull City’s three most potent threats who will require special attention:

Hull Player Stats 2015/16

** Shot Quality – Based on historic shots, how many times the average team would score from a shot in the same position (For more info search ‘Expected Goals’) **

1. Abel Hernandez

Abel Hernandez is without doubt Hull’s greatest goal threat having scored 21 goals this season equating to 30% of Hull’s total goals overall. He weighs in with a goal or assist 0.61 times for every 90 minutes played which is just over 1 goal or assist in every 2 games he plays. Despite this his shot quality is a negative figure meaning that he should probably have scored more, as the model suggests the average player would score around 25 goals for the same shots he took. Despite this Hernandez is an all round finisher scoring goals with both feet from all different angles which is apparent below. The image also shows all of his goals came from inside the area so it’s of paramount importance that he is closed down should he gain possession of the ball inside the box.

Abel Hernandez Goal and Assists 2015/2016

2. Robert Snodgrass

Robert Snodgrass is the second most influential player with 3 goals and 5 assists this season. Despite not being involved much at the start of the season due to injury, he has began to find consistency and has made 23 appearances playing 1,561 minutes overall. Again his goals and assists are coming at a rate 0.46 for every 90 minutes played which is just under 1 in every 2 games and he will be a real threat. The majority of his impact is made on the right hand side where he has played a lot of the season but has since moved across to the left.

Robert Snodgrass Goals and Assists 2015/2016

3. Mohamed Diame

Mohamed Diame is next most influential player from central midfield making 37 appearances this season totalling 2,503 minutes. Diame’s goal tally of 8 for the season is testament to the dangerous late forward runs the Hull midfielders make as the image shows 7 of his 8 goals coming from inside the box. With 4 assists to add to the total we can see that his goals and assists are coming at a rate of 0.43 per 90 minutes played which is only slightly less than Robert Snodgrass. The goal’s Diame creates tend to be balls from a central area around 25 yards out played through the lines with Hernandez being the beneficiary on 3 of the 4 assists.

Mohamed Diame Goals and Assists 2015/2016

Diame assist for Hernandez

I hope you found this brief overview of Hull City interesting, please share if you did and make sure you tweet me with any feedback/suggestions as this is my first article.

 

*NOTE – Games are from the regular Championship seasons only (Cup & Play-off games aren’t included)

**NOTE – I am not accountable for the accuracy of the stats as I am not collecting them, so any errors are out of my control unfortunately