The physical battle between McBurnie and Diop really interests me here. Diop has been consistent for committing fouls this season, he’s committed at least one in five of his eight appearances for Ipswich in the league, averaging 0.88 committed per 90.

However, it is McBurnie’s knack for winning fouls that makes this an appealing selection for me. 

McBurnie is averaging 1.91 fouls won per 90 in the league, drawing at least one in every game this season, and he is only priced at 1.25 to win one. 

Both his, and Hull’s, playstyle suits fouls perfectly. Hull’s compact 5-4-1 formation results in McBurnie using his physical presence to hold-up long balls and bring his teammates into play with his back to the centre-half. Hull average 22.0 accurate long balls per game, which ranks 8th in the league, so emphasises their use of this as an outball. 

Diop is an equally physical player, we saw last week where he was lucky not to be sent off for a reckless tackle, whilst he also committed a foul against Liam Delap, who is an equally physical striker to McBurnie. Although the two teams play in different ways, I would expect this battle to end in a similar way, with Diop committing fouls.

I think there will be fouls in the Hull midfield today, given the quality of Julio Enciso in the Ipswich attack. Enciso has drawn the most fouls across the Ipswich squad this season with 13, averaging 1.80 per 90.

That draws my attention to Regan Slater, who has started every game for Hull this season, and I think his defensive nature will lead to him committing fouls here, especially considering he averages 0.80 fouls committed per 90.

Slater has been playing as a box-to-box midfielder, however has shown his importance for them defensively. He is averaging 6.77 defensive contributions, as well as 1.99 tackles per 90 for Hull this season. He also loves a duel, averaging 7.7 per 90, winning 4.63 of these. 

However, he is prone to be dribbled past, averaging 1.19 per 90, which does interest me in his battle with Enciso, who averages 2.22 successful dribbles per 90, from 5.27 attempts. Given his averages, it’s definitely a match-up I’d be keeping an eye on, particularly in an Ipswich transition.

Hull have received the joint-most yellow cards this season (22) and have received at least two cards in seven of their eight Premier League games.

Ipswich’s games have been just as card heavy, however mainly for their opposition. Each of their eight opponents in the league have received 2+ cards, with 3+ landing in seven of those. 

Hull also received 2+ cards in both meetings with Ipswich in the Championship last season and I think this occasion will be a physical, competitive encounter, as both sides will be viewing this as a must-win game.

Given their records, and previous meetings, I’d be very surprised if this game didn’t follow suit.

Belloumi has been a shot machine this season, currently ranking in the top 10 of Premier League players for  shots taken.

It’s no surprise that his stats are very strong, averaging 3.30 shots per 90, and landing 2+ in seven of his eight appearances. He is a threat from both inside and outside the box too, with 10 of his shots coming from inside, and 12 coming from outside, which gives him plenty of opportunities to have a go at goal.

Hull’s playstyle allows him to be one of their main attacking focal points. Their heavily defensive formation consisting of five defenders, with two defensive-minded central midfielders, means they heavily rely on their wingers to create their opportunities on goal. Resulting in Belloumi’s impressive return of three goals and two assists in eight appearances.

He has been quieter in Hull’s last two games, not registering a shot on target, however still recorded 3+ shots in both games. Hull will be seeing this as a good opportunity to get back to winning ways, so I think Belloumi will be heavily involved.