Hull City vs Swansea - Jakupovic thinks Hull 'need 36 or 37 points' to seal EPL survival - 7M sport

Hull City vs Swansea - Jakupovic thinks Hull 'need 36 or 37 points' to seal EPL survival



Posted Saturday, March 11, 2017 by PA

Hull goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic believes a total of 36 points could be enough to keep the club in the Premier League this season.

The Tigers, second from bottom and currently on 21 points - four from safety - face a crucial fixture at the KCOM Stadium on Saturday against relegation rivals Swansea.

The Welsh club have won five of their last eight league games under head coach Paul Clement to move six points clear of Hull with 11 games left to play.

When asked if anything other than victory for the Tigers would be acceptable, Jakupovic told a press conference: "When you say it like that, a point is a point.

"I don't think we need 40 points to stay in the Premier League, I think we need 36 or 37 points.

"One point would get us nearer the 36 and we would have to take the point, so better that than nothing.

"But I wish we can take the three points. We're going to go for three points, but we have to be clever."

The Tigers have taken eight points from their last seven league games under Marco Silva, who replaced Mike Phelan four days after Swansea appointed Clement.

Silva's first game in charge was a 2-0 home win against Swansea in the FA Cup, with Hull also winning by an identical scoreline at the Liberty Stadium in August.

"I don't want to say it, but for me, it's not the final game, but it's a massive game," Jakupovic added.

"We have to believe in ourselves, every player and everyone has to give 150 per cent - 100 per cent is not enough."

Silva has a big selection dilemma after confirming centre-half Curtis Davies is back in contention after a hamstring injury.

Harry Maguire and Andrea Ranocchia have formed a solid partnership in Davies' five-game absence and Silva, who will otherwise choose from an unchanged squad, must decide whether to split that up.

Midfielder Evandro (calf) is still not available, while Michael Dawson (calf), Markus Henriksen (shoulder), Dieumerci Mbokani (hamstring) and Ryan Mason (fractured skull) are still out.

Clement hopes to exact revenge over Silva for his first defeat as Swansea manager.

Clement's first official game at Swansea was the 2-0 FA Cup defeat at Hull in January.

The third-round tie also marked Portuguese Silva's opening game in charge of the Tigers.

"I look back to the FA Cup game in January when we started at the same time," Clement said.

"They had the edge over us, but it was a tight game and went to 80 minutes before there was a goal.

"Then they hit us on the counter at the end. But looking at the statistics - shots on target, possessions, crosses - the two teams are very similar.

"I am looking forward to go up against him (Silva) and coming out on top this time."

Kyle Naughton will miss out on Saturday.

The former Tottenham right-back suffered a hamstring injury in last weekend's 3-2 victory over Burnley and is likely to be replaced by Angel Rangel.

Jefferson Montero (hamstring) and Ki Sung-yueng (knee) are set to return to the squad.



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