Plymouth vs Hull predictions: Rooney hoping for Home Park boost
- Plymouth beat Hull 1-0 on the final day of last season
- Including pre-season, Hull are without a win in 10 matches
- Recommended bet: Plymouth Draw No Bet
Plymouth and Hull will both be aiming to secure their first Championship victories of the season when they meet at Home Park on Saturday.
There is plenty of attention on Argyle this season following the appointment of Wayne Rooney as manager, but the Pilgrims got off to the worst possible start after being thrashed 4-0 at a ruthless Sheffield Wednesday on the opening weekend.
They did bounce back to beat League Two Cheltenham in the EFL Cup during the week, a competition Hull exited after losing 2-1 to Sheff Wed, that result coming off the back of their 1-1 home draw with Bristol City in the league.
Team news
Goalkeeper Conor Hazard and midfielder Darko Gyabi were the only players to retain their places for Plymouth's cup win over Cheltenham and Rooney now faces a dilemma as to whether to keep faith with a winning team or bring back in some of his more established stars.
Among the players who should earn recalls are Morgan Whittaker and Mustapha Bundu, who both came off the bench to good effect in the cup – the latter getting on the scoresheet.
Tigers head coach Tim Walter also made changes for the cup and the likes of Lewie Coyle, Xavier Simons and Oscar Estupinan should all return to the starting XI now.
The stats
Plymouth have won three competitive home matches on the spin, beating Leicester and Hull at the end of last season before seeing off Cheltenham 3-0 during the week.
That 1-0 success over Hull on the final day of last season was enough to preserve Plymouth's Championship status, while also ending the Tigers' hopes of making it into the play-offs.
Including pre-season, Hull are without a win in 10 matches and are yet to register a victory under Walter, who succeeded Liam Rosenior as head coach over the summer.
Only last season's top two, Leicester and Ipswich, picked up more away wins in the Championship during 2023-24 than Hull, the Tigers winning 11 times on the road compared to eight successes on their own patch at the MKM Stadium.
Prediction
There is no two ways about it, Plymouth were not at the races against Wednesday, but they did deliver a much-needed victory during the week to take some of the early-season heat off Rooney.
The jury is still very much out on what the former England captain can produce at Home Park, but the same is true of Hull under Walter, with the new Tigers boss still getting to know his players and he remains very active in the transfer market.
It may be a good few weeks before it becomes clear what Hull are about under Walter and Plymouth, who were good at home last season, picking up 35 of their 51 points at Home Park, can take advantage.
Plymouth have won three competitive games in a row on home soil, albeit two came before Rooney's arrival, but one of those was a 1-0 success over Hull on the final day of last season.
The Pilgrims would likely bite your arm off for a repeat of that result on Saturday and they are fancied to take the spoils, although backing them in the Draw No Bet market could be the safer play, as both teams look to find their feet at this early stage of the season.
Win up to £1MILLION with LiveScore 6!
Win up to £1Million with our free-to-play game, LiveScore 6!
