Newcastle United vs Hull City: Semi Ajayi to star at St. James’ — Preview, team news, tips & H2H

⚽ Newcastle United vs Hull City
Predicted score	Newcastle United 2-1 Hull City
Top tip	Newcastle United to win
Nigerian angle	Super Eagles defender Semi Ajayi starts at centre-back as Hull City visit St James’ Park
Key stat: Ajayi’s Premier League goal this season matches Harvey Barnes’s tally, but Newcastle’s actual top league scorer, Anthony Elanga, is out injured this weekend

Semi Ajayi has started every Premier League game Hull City have played this season, Afrik-Foot reports.

The 32-year-old scored Hull’s first Premier League goal since 2017 in the win over Manchester United, then helped the Tigers to three clean sheets in a row before Chelsea ended that run with a two-goal comeback in a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge last time out.

Newcastle United, for their part, arrive desperate to shake off a humbling week under new head coach Matthias Jaissle, who watched his side crumble 4-1 at Leeds United on Monday.

Hull sit fourth on eight points from four games and remain unbeaten, a record that would put them among the best-starting promoted sides in Premier League history if they avoid defeat tomorrow.

Newcastle United vs Hull City match preview

Jaissle has openly admitted that Newcastle’s learning curve needs to move faster, and the numbers back him up.

The Magpies have faced more shots than any other Premier League side this season, 76 in total, an average of 19 per match.

Sitting 12th, the same spot they finished last term, Newcastle now have a two-week international break sandwiched between fixtures against newly promoted Hull and Coventry, games their manager will view as opportunities he cannot afford to fumble.

Their sole home league outing so far ended in a scrambled 2-2 draw with Bournemouth after they had trailed by two goals.

Hull, by contrast, have punched well above their promoted-club weight under Sergej Jakirović, taking eight points from four matches that included wins over Manchester United and Coventry City.

Mohamed Belloumi has been the spark for that run, scoring twice in the two-two draw at Chelsea, a result that briefly had Hull dreaming of top spot before Joao Pedro’s leveller.

A win at St James’ Park would make Hull the first promoted side to avoid defeat in their opening five Premier League matches since Portsmouth in 2003-04.

Head-to-head record: Newcastle United vs Hull City

These two clubs have not met in a competitive fixture since November 2016, when Hull won on penalties at St James’ Park in the EFL Cup fifth round after a one-one draw.

Newcastle’s home record against Hull specifically is patchy, having drawn one and lost one of their last two meetings hosted at St James’ Park.

The most recent of those, in September 2014, saw Newcastle come from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw.

Across the past seven meetings between these sides, Newcastle United have claimed three victories, while Hull City have claimed just one, with three draws between them.

Back home this weekend 🙌 pic.twitter.com/mEisCtw6ts

— Newcastle United (@NUFC) September 17, 2026

Team news: Newcastle United vs Hull City

Newcastle United

Newcastle will be without Amar Dedić after a recurrence of the hamstring problem that forced him off at half-time against Millwall, with Jaissle confirming the defender will not play and targeting his return for after the international break.

Jacob Ramsey (thigh) pulled up in the warm-up at Elland Road, and Nico González will serve out the remainder of his concussion protocol having been forced off in the first half there.

Dan Burn (ankle) is reported closer to a return than most of the club’s other absentees, but Joelinton (thigh), William Osula (foot), Ewen Jaouen (ankle) and Anthony Elanga, whose own issue has still not been given a firm diagnosis, all remain sidelined.

Tino Livramento replaces Dedić at right-back, Elanga’s absence pushes Harvey Barnes over to the right or calls Jacob Murphy into the fold, and Bazoumana Touré, who scored his first Newcastle goal off the bench at Leeds, is in line for a first Premier League start on the left.

Hull City

Nobel Mendy will miss the game under the seven-day concussion protocol he entered after his head injury against Chelsea.

Matt Targett is a doubt after twisting his ankle in training two days ago, and Hidemasa Morita remains out and is not due back in the squad until after the first week of the international break.

Charlie Hughes is working through an initial six-week prognosis on a pubic bone issue and has only just begun light individual work, while Jack Butland’s recovery from his elbow operation is targeted for a return to full training in December.

Ilyas Ansah (back) also remains unavailable, and Eliot Matazo and Darko Gyabi are both ineligible to face their parent club’s opponents this weekend.

Jakirović has no reason to break up a back three that has conceded only twice in four league games, so Semi Ajayi keeps his place alongside John Egan and Lucas Herrington.

Star player comparison: Semi Ajayi vs Harvey Barnes

Semi Ajayi 🇳🇬 Centre-back · Hull City	Stat	Harvey Barnes Left winger · Newcastle United
1	Goals	1
0	Assists	0
4	Appearances	4
7.20	FotMob rating	7.05

The managers: Matthias Jaissle vs Sergej Jakirović

Jaissle, 38, was appointed Newcastle head coach in August after leaving Al Ahli, where he won back-to-back AFC Champions League titles.

Before that, he guided Red Bull Salzburg to consecutive Austrian league and cup doubles, becoming one of the youngest coaches in Austrian football at the time.

His first month at St James’ Park has been rockier than that resume suggested, with the 3-1loss at Leeds his heaviest defeat since taking charge.

Jakirović, 49, arrived at Hull in June 2025 from Turkish side Kayserispor and needed just one season to turn a relegation-threatened Championship squad into Premier League regulars.

The Bosnian previously won a Croatian league and cup double with Dinamo Zagreb, and Hull rewarded his impact with a new contract through 2028 earlier this month.

Tactical preview: Newcastle United vs Hull City

Jaissle’s 4-2-3-1 leans heavily on Steur and Miley screening a back four missing three of its regular members, which is precisely the kind of gap Belloumi and Stroud will look to attack through the middle.

Hull’s 3-4-2-1 gives Coyle and Giles licence to push on from wing-back, and with Newcastle’s full-back options thinned out by injury, the space out wide could matter as much as anything through the centre.

Newcastle’s issue all season has been shots conceded rather than shots created, and a Hull side capable of scoring in both of their away league outings so far will fancy testing that again.

Newcastle United vs Hull City betting tips and predictions

Final score prediction: Newcastle United vs Hull City

🔮 Newcastle United 2-1 Hull City

Home advantage and squad depth should just about see Newcastle through, though Hull’s away scoring record makes a routine afternoon unlikely. Likely scorers: Harvey Barnes, Mohamed Belloumi.