Hull must focus on their own results to ensure survival – Silva

And Tigers boss Marco Silva may well be confident of getting something out of their trip to the Britannia Stadium.

Stoke, in 11th, have 39 points from 33 games.

– Marko Arnautovic has been directly involved in 10 Premier League goals this term (6 goals, 4 assists); the most of any Stoke City player.

Unfortunately, as the game is a 3pm kick-off on Saturday, it will not be shown on live TV. After these 10 minutes we set a great intensity in the match, but we can not begin the match like we began.

And of course, you can follow all the action in SunSport’s live blog, from around midday.

John Roder: “For very different reasons both of these teams need a win this weekend”. It’s a trademark header from the big man as he heads in from Walter’s inch-perfect cross.

Stoke midfielder Joe Allen is ruled out by injury, while Jonathan Walters is a doubt with a knee problem.

Doubts: Adam 75%, Allen 25%, Butland 25%.

Mark Hughes believes Stoke might “express themselves a bit more” after securing three points against Hull.

Doubts: Lenihan 75%, Maguire 75%, Mbokani Bezua 75%.

A season full of clouds can end with the Silva lining of safety thanks to Hull’s new manager and their impressive home record, according to defender Michael Dawson.

It was all Stoke but then Hull had their first real chance of the afternoon, only for striker Oumar Niasse to squander the opportunity.

The Tigers, who have taken only one point away from home in seven months, made a good fist of trying to change the pattern and played some good football at the times, subjecting the Stoke defence to some hard passages.

And it was Hull who grabbed the game’s all-important second goal just after the break when Harry Maguire capitalised on some poor defending as he finished coolly from a corner to level the scores.

The Tigers have taken only one point from a possible 21 on their travels since Silva took charge in January and Saturday’s 3-1 loss in Staffordshire left them still just two points above the bottom three. Win and they could end the day in the top half, lose and the visitors are just three points behind.

“If you look at the numbers from the last 10 years and maybe you’ve done this work, you know what a club normally needs to remain in the Premier League”.

Stoke City veteran Peter Crouch admits there was relief after victory over Hull City.

A vastly improved Hull, though, should be confident of picking up points from their next four games against Watford, Southampton, Sunderland and Crystal Palace.

– After keeping two clean sheets in their first four league games under Marco Silva, Hull have since conceded in nine consecutive outings.