Hull City make the trip to the bet365 Stadium on Tuesday on the back of the biggest result of their season so far, a 2-0 win over Manchester United on their return to the Premier League.
Sergej Jakirovic’s side have taken four wins from their last five matches across all competitions and arrive as considerable favourites, though the manager is expected to rotate heavily with a trip to Coventry City to follow at the weekend. Stoke City, by contrast, need a lift after back-to-back Championship defeats, a difficult start head coach Mark Robins has attributed to a squad still gelling following a busy summer of recruitment.
Stoke progressed to this stage with a comfortable 2-0 win over League Two side Oldham Athletic, while Hull enter the competition at the second round as one of the Premier League’s non-European entrants. The sides’ most recent meeting came on New Year’s Day, when Stoke won 1-0 at Hull’s MKM Stadium in the Championship. Robins will hope home advantage and a motivated group of fringe players can trouble a Hull side expected to field a much-changed XI.
Stoke City vs Hull City – Match preview and team news
Date: Tuesday, 25 August 2026
Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Venue: bet365 Stadium
Last meeting: Hull City 0-1 Stoke City, Championship, 1 January 2026
Team news
Stoke City
Aaron Cresswell, Lamine Cisse, Bosun Lawal, Junior Tchamadeu and Ato Ampah are all out through injury, and Svante Ingelsson is suspended following his red card against Southampton. Robins described his side as having “played really well” against Southampton before tiring in areas he “can’t strengthen right now,” pointing to squad depth as an ongoing issue. Robert Bozenik could be recalled up front, with Tomas Rigo in line to replace the suspended Ingelsson in midfield.
Hull City
Eliot Matazo, Darko Gyabi, Jack Butland, Oscar Zambrano, Charlie Hughes and Joe Gelhardt are all unavailable through injury, while Semi Ajayi, Nobel Mendy and Lewie Coyle are being monitored after picking up knocks against Manchester United. Jakirovic is expected to switch to a back four having used a back five at the weekend, with John Egan the centre-back most likely to make way. Hidemasa Morita’s return from a calf problem would be a welcome boost in midfield.
Form
Stoke City
Robins’ side opened the season with a routine cup win over Oldham but have since lost their opening two Championship fixtures, beaten 2-1 by Swansea City before a 3-1 defeat at Southampton in which two late goals settled the contest. The manager has been candid about his squad still needing time to gel after a heavy summer of incomings. A positive cup result would offer a timely confidence boost before Saturday’s league fixture.
Hull City
Jakirovic’s side could hardly have made a more emphatic return to the top flight, a clean-sheet win over Manchester United headlining a run of four wins in five matches across all competitions. Defenders Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy were both on the scoresheet against United. Hull have also won their last three league visits to Stoke, a record that will offer encouragement even with a heavily rotated side.
Predicted lineups
Stoke City predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Johansson; Johnson, Wilmot, Gibson, Bocat; Galbraith, Rigo; Gallagher, Jun-Ho, Thomas; Bozenik
Hull City predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Tzolakis; Coyle, Ajayi, Mendy, Giles; Slater, Crooks; Belloumi, Hjerto-Dahl, Stroud; McBurnie
How to watch Stoke City vs Hull City?
The match will be broadcast live in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports+.
Read more – Al-Hilal make decision on pursuit of Chelsea winger Neto
See also – Neville says media have been ‘too kind’ to underperforming Liverpool pair