Preview: Arsenal vs. Hull City Hull: Form in FA Cup: WDWWWD Form in all competitions: DLLWLW Arsenal: Form in FA Cup: WWWWDD Form in all competitions: WWDWWL Holders Arsenal begin their defence of the FA Cup on Sunday when they host Hull City in a rematch of last seasons memorable final at Wembley. The Gunners ended their nine-year wait for a trophy with victory in May, but only after the Tigers had seriously threatened to gatecrash the party. Goals from Curtis Davies and James Chester had put Steve Bruces underdogs two up inside 10 minutes, before goals from Santi Cazorla and Laurent Koscielny forced extra time. It was Aaron Ramsey who scored the dramatic winner to relieve Arsene Wenger of the burden that had been the clubs silverware drought, but the Arsenal manager is again finding himself under scrutiny. One fan confronted the Frenchman in his dugout during the 2-0 home defeat to Southampton in the Premier League on New Years Day - a result which leaves them sixth in the table and 13 points off top. Wojciech Szczesny was perhaps culpable for both of Southamptons goals, and Wenger has confirmed that the Polish keeper will be dropped for David Ospina ahead of the third-round tie in London. Injuries may prevent further changes as Arsenals defensive options remain limited. Further up the field, Ramsey, Mesut Ozil, Mikel Arteta, Jack Wilshere, Danny Welbeck and Olivier Giroud are all unavailable. With the under-utlisied Lukas Podolski poised to complete a switch to Inter Milan and youngster Yaya Sanogo also in the loan window, top scorer Alexis Sanchez is likely to continue as the central striker. There could be starts for Nacho Monreal, Francis Coquelin, Tomas Rosicky and Theo Walcott, who came off the bench against Southampton having recovered from a setback suffered on his long-awaited return. Hulls primary focus must be on retaining their top-flight status, a goal which has been aided by two wins in their last three games which have lifted them out of the drop zone following a 10-match winless run. Bruce has his own injury worries and was without as many as eight first-team regulars for the crucial 2-0 victory over Everton, but Tom Huddlestone returns from suspension to bolster the midfield ranks. He should start at the Emirates Stadium in one of several Tigers changes. Robbie Brady and Sone Aluko are also in contention, while former Sheffield United defender Harry Maguire could make his full debut. Arsenal needed a 90th-minute Welbeck equaliser to draw 2-2 with Hull at the Emirates in October. Possible starting lineup: Ospina; Debuchy, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Monreal; Coquelin, Rosicky, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Cazorla, Walcott, Sanchez Possible starting lineup: McGregor; Chester, Bruce, Maguire; Elmohamady, Huddlestone, Livermore, Meyler, Brady; Aluko, Hernandez MrvetzSports says: 2-1
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 08:44:07 +0000