Hull City vs Aston Villa: Preview, teams, h2h & predictions as Ajayi targets another bigwig

Hull City welcome Aston Villa to the MKM Stadium this Saturday, in what promises to be an enthralling encounter.

Sergej Jakirovic’s newly promoted Tigers have taken six points from six against Manchester United and Coventry City, and they now welcome an Aston Villa team that spent last spring lifting the Europa League but has since lost the spine of that side and slumped to the foot of the Premier League table.

Back at the MKM 🏟️ pic.twitter.com/21fymVYVPC

— Hull City (@HullCity) September 3, 2026

Hull City vs. Aston Villa: Match Preview

Few would have backed Hull City to still be unbeaten after two Premier League matches. Yet Jakirovic’s side have six points from three games, having beaten Manchester United 2-0 on the opening weekend before following up with a 1-0 win away at Coventry City.

Both those results arrived alongside clean sheets, a theme that has defined Hull’s return to the top flight after their promotion via the Championship play-offs in May, when they beat Middlesbrough 1-0 at Wembley having already seen off Millwall in the semi-final.

Nigerian defender Semi Ajayi has been central to that defensive resilience, and it was fitting that he was the man who broke the deadlock against Manchester United, converting a rebound to make it his first Premier League goal since January 2021.

Ajayi has partnered John Egan and club-record signing Nobel Mendy at the heart of a back three, a system that has also squeezed a penalty shootout win over Stoke City in the EFL Cup out of Jakirovic’s men this month.

Striker Oli McBurnie summed up the mood after the Coventry win, joking that Hull becoming “the worst team in Premier League history” would not have been a bad achievement given the pre-season predictions, before adding that their start had been anything but that.

Aston Villa’s story could not be more different, and Unai Emery’s side head into round three still searching for their first point of the campaign after a chastening 4-0 defeat at Brighton and a narrower 1-0 loss at home to reigning champions Arsenal.

Villa have managed zero shots on target across those 180 minutes, a startling statistic for a team that reached a European final only months ago, and it underlines how disruptive their summer rebuild has been.

Emiliano Martinez, Ezri Konsa, Youri Tielemans, Morgan Rogers and Lucas Digne have all left Villa Park since the Europa League triumph, while Ollie Watkins departed for Al Hilal, leaving Emery to integrate a host of new faces including Nicolas Jackson, Zion Suzuki and Germany midfielder Leon Goretzka on the fly.

With Villa also competing in the Champions League this season after finishing last term strongly, the fixture list is unforgiving, and a trip to in-form Hull is not the reset many at Villa Park would have chosen.

Ross Barkley was one of the few bright spots in the defeat to Arsenal, and the responsibility to create chances is likely to fall heavily on the veteran midfielder again at the MKM Stadium.

Head-to-Head: Hull City and Aston Villa

This will be the first meeting between the two clubs since Hull’s promotion, so there is no reverse fixture from earlier this season to draw on, and it is in fact the first time Aston Villa have visited the MKM Stadium in any competition since the 2018-19 Championship season.

That last visit to East Yorkshire ended in a 3-1 win for Villa in August 2018, before the sides played out a 2-2 draw at Villa Park in January 2019, the most recent occasion these two clubs shared a pitch.

Going back a little further, Hull City beat Aston Villa 2-0 at home in February 2015, but a 0-0 stalemate at the MKM Stadium in March 2018 and a 1-1 draw at Villa Park in August 2017 show the fixture has often been tightly contested despite the gulf in overall history.

The two sides have met 28 times in all competitions, and Aston Villa hold a commanding historical advantage, winning 15 of those meetings to Hull City’s three, with the remaining 10 games finishing level, though results from seven or eight years ago carry little weight on current form.

Team News, Injuries and Predicted Lineups

Hull City

Jakirovic remains without goalkeeper Jack Butland, midfielder Eliot Matazo and Darko Gyabi, defender Charlie Hughes, and midfielder Oscar Zambrano, all of whom are sidelined through injury.

Matt Crooks is also out with a thigh problem that flared up again after the Manchester United game, while Joe Gelhardt is a doubt, though Hidemasa Morita has already deputised effectively in central midfield across the last two matches.

Kieran Dowell and Liam Millar, who scored the winner off the bench against Coventry, will be the main attacking options from the bench.

Hull City predicted XI (5-4-1)

Tzolakis; Coyle, Ajayi, Egan, Mendy, Giles; Slater, Morita, Stroud, Belloumi; McBurnie

Aston Villa

Joao Gomes will serve the second match of his three game suspension, handed down for violent conduct against Brighton, and he is specifically banned for this trip to Hull along with the visit of Arsenal and the home game against Nottingham Forest that follows.

Amadou Onana remains a long-term absentee after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury for Belgium at the 2026 World Cup, and Villa are also without Johan Manzambi and Brian Madjo through injury, with Tammy Abraham a doubt.

Alejandro Garnacho is pushing for his first start after coming off the bench against Arsenal, and he could come in for either Emiliano Buendia or George Hemmings, while Leon Goretzka offers Emery a fresh option in midfield to help cover for the suspended Gomes.

Aston Villa predicted XI (4-2-3-1)

Suzuki; Cash, Lindelof, Torres, Maatsen; Kamara, Barkley; McGinn, Garnacho, Buendia; Jackson

The Managers

Sergej Jakirovic

The 49-year-old Bosnian arrived at Hull in June 2025 after a brief spell at Kayserispor in Turkey, and his first season in England ended in unlikely promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs.

Jakirovic previously guided Zrinjski Mostar to the Bosnian Premier League title and led Dinamo Zagreb to a domestic league and cup double, as well as into the Champions League group stage, and his approach at Hull has leaned on defensive structure and squad cohesion rather than marquee signings.

Unai Emery

The Spaniard remains one of the most respected coaches in English football after steering Villa to Europa League glory against Freiburg in May, a triumph that followed a run to the UEFA Super Cup final where his side lost 2-1 to Paris Saint-Germain in August.

Emery is now tasked with rebuilding on the fly following the exits of several first-team regulars, and while pressure is beginning to build after back-to-back defeats, his job appears safe for now given the credit earned last season.

Tactical Preview

Jakirovic has stuck with a back three of Mendy, Egan and Ajayi in both league games so far, with Coyle and Giles providing width as wing-backs and a busy central four of Slater, Morita, Stroud and Belloumi screening in front of the defence.

That shape has made Hull extremely hard to break down, and the aerial presence of Ajayi and Egan should cause problems for Villa at set pieces, an area where the visitors have already shown fragility this season.

Aston Villa have set up in a fairly conventional 4-2-3-1 through their opening two matches, but reports suggest Emery could experiment with a back three of his own to match Hull’s system and get extra bodies forward, with Garnacho and Alysson both in contention for wide roles.

Villa’s biggest issue has been service into Jackson, who has fired wide twice on his home debut against Arsenal without finding the target, and with Barkley the only proven creator in the middle following the exits of Rogers and Tielemans, Hull’s compact double pivot could nullify Villa’s main attacking route once again.

Betting Tips and Predictions

Final Score