Hull City v Fulham: Keep Mitrovic out of the box, is Tigers plan

Aleksandar Mitrovic of Fulham. (Photo by Tony Marshall/Getty Images)Aleksandar Mitrovic of Fulham. (Photo by Tony Marshall/Getty Images)
Aleksandar Mitrovic of Fulham. (Photo by Tony Marshall/Getty Images)
FOR Hull City the question is 
this.

How do you solve a problem like Aleksandar Mitrovic, a player who struggles to make a dent upon Premier League defences, but who leaves a trail of destruction in his wake across his happy Championship hunting ground?

The Tigers did keep Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke and Blackburn’s Ben Brereton-Diaz, who have 39 second-tier goals between them this season, scoreless recently, but they now face their ultimate individual test.

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Mitrovic has scored an incredible 30 Championship goals already this term.

His seasonal total is actually 33 if you factor in goals for his country, Serbia.

Back in 2019-20, Mitrovic was the joint Championship top-scorer with 26 goals alongside then Brentford striker Ollie Watkins. His pedigree at this level is utterly proven.

For Tigers head coach Shota Arveladze, City’s defensive tactics today must be cute.

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He said: “The statistics say Mitrovic has scored 30 goals out of 29 games, if I am not wrong with seven assists.

“What I am trying to say (to Hull players) is keep him out of the box because he is a big boy who can hold the ball and doesn’t see the ball when he holds it.

“If you keep him out, you have a chance of defending well. That is what I was saying to our central defenders. Have less contact to him, because he is strong,

“Don’t get his first touch, but by reacting to the second, then you have good timing to take the ball away. If you stand behind him, he says nothing and holds balls and you lose the duels.

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“We were always late (at Derby) and need to concentrate where we can hurt them.”

Successive defeats to Derby and Swansea have dampened Hull’s ardour following a much-publicised takeover and the additions of four players on transfer deadline-day, incorporating the permanent addition of Ryan Longman.

Speculation suggests that they may now enter the free agent market, but Arveladze, sensibly, is determined to focus on what he has got and getting a tune out of his players consistently.

He added: “To be honest, I was not thinking much about it and I would be surprised if you see someone free who joins us.

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“If someone does not join in the next 10 games, there is no reason to take him as the gap (then) goes more longer if they don’t train well or stay fit on the level. It takes them time to compete and get ready to play.”

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