Super Silva’s Hull City revival makes top 10 finish worth a flutter
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Those who wrote off Marco Silva’s appointment as Hull City boss are quickly being forced to eat their words, with the Portuguese gaffer currently overseeing a quite incredible turnaround at the KCOM Stadium.
Having beaten Manchester United and Liverpool during the last fortnight, the Tigers currently look a million miles from the relegation fodder many had pegged them as.
That means that while the East Yorkshire outfit look good to beat the drop in this season’s Premier League, it could be the ambitious 50/1 for a top-half finish where the value really lies.
Hull are currently 10 points below 10th-placed Watford, but while there’s no doubting that’s a sizeable gap to close with 14 games left, the Tigers’ recent stats suggest that it might not be beyond them.
Victory over Liverpool last weekend saw Marco Silva take his return to seven points from four Premier League games since joining the club in early January – meaning that more than a third of their current points total has come in the 16 per cent of games since he took over.
Similarly impressive was the 0-0 draw City chalked up at Old Trafford in their most recent away fixture, becoming the first side to chalk up a clean sheet against Man United in 20 games.
And while the Red Devils narrowly edged out the Tigers in the EFL Cup semi-finals (3-2 on aggregate), Silva’s men bossed the second leg at the KCOM Stadium, with their 2-1 victory on the night condemning United to a first defeat in 18 outings.
January’s transfer business also suggests Silva’s side will continue going from strength to strength. While the departure of Robert Snodgrass disappointed many of a black and amber persuasion, that’s been more than offset by an octet of excellent additions.
Powerful striker Oumar Niasse already looks reborn following his miserable stint at Goodison Park, while Poland ace Kamil Grosicki and the hugely creative Evandro Goebel – who played under Silva at Estoril – are just a couple more of the excellent additions.
The injuries which have plagued the Tigers for much of this season also appear to be abating at a crucial time. Admittedly there remain a few long-term absences – the likes of Will Keane, Moses Odubajo and Ryan Mason – but virtually all of Silva’s key men are available right now.
What awaits them is a fairly unintimidating final stretch of the season, especially as far as fixtures at the KCOM Stadium go.
Only one of Hull’s remaining seven visitors are currently in the Premier League’s top eight, with three of the current bottom six – Burnley, Middlesbrough and Sunderland – making the trip to face Silva’s men.
All that means that the massive 50/1 on offer for a top-ten finish could turn out to be the savviest bet you make this season.
Next up for Hull City is a trip to the Emirates, with 9/1 on offer for the Tigers to inflict a third successive defeat on Arsenal.
City’s class of 2008 won on the club’s first visit to the Emirates. If the crop of 2017 can do the same, that hefty price of 50/1 for could begin an unstoppable tumble…
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
