Manchester United's Premier League Opener Against Hull
Manchester United’s second‑half specialists are back, but this time the stakes are very real.
No team collected more points after the interval in the Premier League last season than United – 41 from 19 games – as Michael Carrick turned a drifting campaign into a late surge. That run came with no European distractions, no midweek flights, no rotation puzzles. Now comes the hard part: can he keep that momentum while juggling the Champions League and the expectation that United should start fast, not just finish strong?
On Saturday, the questions begin at the MKM Stadium.
Hull’s long road back
Hull return to the top flight a decade after their last Premier League appearance, having squeezed into the Championship playoffs in sixth and then held their nerve at Wembley, edging Middlesbrough 1-0 in the final. The prize was huge. The reality hits at 12.30pm BST on August 22 when United roll into town as heavy favourites.
The cameras will be there. TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate carry the game live in the UK, with coverage from midday, while TalkSPORT provides full commentary on what could be a bruising reintroduction to life at the top.
Sergej Jakirovic’s first team sheet of the campaign will already be patched together. Hull are carrying a sizeable injury list: Jack Butland, Joe Gelhardt, Eliot Matazo, Darko Gyabi, Oscar Zambrano and Charlie Hughes are all ruled out. Cody Drameh and Matty Jacob remain in the “wait and see” category, to be assessed closer to kick-off.
It is not the platform any promoted side wants when welcoming one of the division’s heavyweights.
Carrick’s new-look United
Carrick, by contrast, walks into the opener with expectation rather than anxiety. United are chasing a record 23rd win in a Premier League curtain-raiser, and he is likely to showcase two of his summer signings from the start: Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos are both in line to feature as United try to set the tone for a season in which they are priced as 9/1 fifth favourites for the title.
Up front, there is a familiar caveat. Benjamin Sesko is back in training after a shin problem but remains a doubt, so Bryan Mbeumo is set to lead the line again after an eye-catching pre-season in the central role. He scored three times over the summer and has looked comfortable as the spearhead of the attack.
The picture elsewhere is mixed. Karl Darlow has finally rejoined training after missing all of pre-season and could make the matchday squad. Mason Mount, impressive before a foot injury in a 1-1 draw with PSG halted his rhythm, faces a late fitness test that will determine whether he plays any part.
At the back, youth may be asked to step into the spotlight. With Lisandro Martinez returning late after reaching the World Cup final with Argentina, youngster Ayden Heaven could partner Harry Maguire in central defence. Matthijs de Ligt, out since November with a back injury, is also back on the grass, but this game comes too soon for him.
In midfield, there is one major absentee that changes the balance of Carrick’s options. Manuel Ugarte faces a lengthy spell out after suffering a serious knee injury while on World Cup duty with Uruguay, removing a powerful defensive presence from United’s engine room.
History, odds and angles
The numbers make grim reading for Hull. They have never beaten United in 10 previous Premier League meetings. United have won eight of those and, more ominously, have never lost a top-flight game when facing a newly promoted side on the opening weekend. Twelve times they have started against a newcomer; nine times they have walked away with victory.
The bookmakers have taken note. United are clear favourites at 4/11. Hull are 7/1 to finally snap that barren run, with the draw at 4/1.
Carrick’s personal record against Hull only underlines the trend: four wins from six managerial meetings. The pattern is familiar, and so is the feeling that this fixture tends to tilt one way.
So the value, as ever, drifts towards the side markets. Bruno Fernandes set a Premier League record last season with 21 assists, and at 13/8 to create another here, he looks fairly priced given his dominance on dead balls and open-play delivery. Combine that with Mbeumo’s pre-season sharpness and you get a tempting angle: Fernandes to assist and Mbeumo to score at any time is offered at 7/2.
United’s second-half surges defined last season. Now the challenge is simpler to state and harder to deliver: can Carrick’s side start as strongly as they finish, with Europe on the horizon and a newly promoted Hull desperate to prove they belong? The answer begins at lunchtime in East Yorkshire.
