Hull City will continue their preparations for their 2023-24 Championship campaign with a pre-season friendly against Turkish outfit Hatayspor at Bursa Metropolitan Municipality Stadium on Sunday evening.
The English outfit played their first friendly of the summer on Wednesday, winning a seven-goal thriller against Galatasaray, and they will now be bidding to round off their training camp with another win.
Match preview
Sunday will be a special occasion for Hatayspor, as the team prepares to take to the field for the first time since the early stages of February, when they recorded a 1-0 win over Kasimpasa.
The devastating earthquake that hit Turkey lead to Hatayspor withdrawing from the Super Lig, with the team ultimately finishing bottom of the table on 23 points from 26 matches.
Head coach Volkan Demirel told reporters ahead of the match: "It will give us strength to see everyone who loves and supports Hatay with us on this comeback day."
The club's forward Christian Atsu and sporting director Taner Savut lost their lives in the earthquakes, and the team will now be bidding to move forward from a hugely difficult period in their history.
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Hull, as mentioned, were in pre-season action on Wednesday, recording a 4-3 victory over Turkish champions Galatasaray despite being three goals behind in the friendly.
Benjamin Tetteh made it 3-1 just before the interval, and Cyrus Christie, Regan Slater and Oscar Estupinan then scored in the final stages to secure a dramatic win for the Championship outfit.
Liam Rosenior's side have another four confirmed friendlies in the diary after this one against Grimsby Town, Barnsley, Bradford City and Scunthorpe United before beginning their league campaign away to Norwich City on August 5.
Hull finished 15th in the Championship last season, and they are currently preparing for a third straight campaign in the second tier of English football.
The Tigers have made two new signings during the summer window, with Xavier Simons arriving on a permanent basis from Chelsea, while Liam Delap has joined on loan from Manchester City, with the 20-year-old making his first outing for the club against Galatasaray.
Team News
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Hatayspor have made a number of signings over the summer, with Carlos Strandberg and Giorgi Aburjania among those expected to be involved in the pre-season friendly.
Strandberg could feature alongside Bertug Yildirim in the final third of the field, with the latter back at the club after a loan spell at Antalyaspor.
Head coach Demirel will make full use of his squad in this match, and a number of young players are also expected to be given opportunities to impress on Sunday.
Hull boss Rosenior, meanwhile, used a different XI for each half of the clash with Galatasaray, and it would not be a surprise to see the same happen in the team's second game of pre-season.
There are expected to be changes from the side that took to the field for the first whistle on Wednesday, though, with Estupinan and Simon potentially coming into the XI.
There should also be a start between the sticks for Matt Ingram, while Jacob Greaves is another player likely to be handed a position in the side on Sunday evening.
Hatayspor possible starting lineup:
Bekaj; Corekci, B Yilmaz, Vranjes, Matur; Aburjania, Hodzic, Ribeiro, Yildiz; Yildirim, Strandberg
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Ingram; Coyle, Jones, Leake, Greaves; Docherty, Tufan, Seri, Delap; Estupinan, Tetteh
We say: Hatayspor 1-1 Hull City
Sunday will be an emotional occasion for Hatayspor, and it is difficult to know exactly what to expect from the contest. Hull will be hoping for another competitive encounter, and we have settled on a low-scoring draw here, which would bring a successful training camp for the English side to an end on a positive note.
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Matt Law
