Hull City Continues to Shock the Premier League

Hull City Continues to Shock the Premier League

At the start of the season, nobody predicted that Hull City would be undefeated and a top five team after four games. By all accounts the Tigers were the bookies favorite to be sent back down to the Championship after a surprise promotion to the top flight. 

Hull City made plenty of moves in the summer transfer window to stay in the Premier League, signing a record 18 players to fill plenty of gaps across the field. The Tigers brought in a mix of youth and experience in an attempt to build a top flight ready side. And after the first four games it appears they have done just that. 

Hull City shocked the soccer world with a matchweek one 2-0 upset against Manchester United. The Tigers then followed it up with a 1-0 away win over newly promoted Coventry City the week after. 

Since then Hull City has tied Aston Villa 0-0 and just recently Chelsea 2-2 after leading for a majority of the game. 

Hull City has had a rough slate to start its first Premier League campaign in nine years, but it has come out of it unscathed and against all odds, on top. 

It has not been a pretty four games for the Tigers however. They currently sit No. 16 in expected goals with 3.63, last in chances created with 25, and nearly dead last in successful passes. By all accounts Hull City is statistically one of the worst attacking teams in the Premier League to start the season, and yet they sit in third place after four games. 

One big reason for their success is goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis. Tzolakis was brought in for a then club record fee from Greek side Olympiacos. His start to the season has been everything the Tigers could have hoped for and more. 

In four games Tzolakis has a league best three clean sheets after facing top competition. He is quickly proving himself to be one of the best young keepers in the Premier League and deserves a lot of the credit for Hull’s shock start. 

Hull City has also shown that the talent they brought up from the Championship can compete in the top flight. Veteran striker Oli McBurnie has held up the attack for the Tigers, and winger Mohamed Belloumi has one assist on the season and scored two goals today against Chelsea. 

Hull has talent all across the pitch and they are continuing to catch teams off guard. The fact they have been routinely counted out could actually be the recipe to their success. The chip on their shoulder taking them through each matchweek. 

The only question now is how long is this form sustainable? As mentioned before, Hull City has statistically one of the worst attacks in the Premier League. That will reflect in results sooner rather than later. 

Hull City has shown it can still compete despite that. While the Tigers likely cannot continue their current run of form, they can still survive the drop. Hull City will inevitably finish in the bottom half of the table but will be clear from relegation come the end of the season.