Arsenal vs. Hull City: Team News, Predicted Lineups, Live Stream, TV Info

Arsenal facing Hull City in the FA Cup seems to be becoming something of a tradition. This will be the third time in as many years that the two sides have met in English football’s top cup competition. 

The Gunners will hope that’s a good omen. In each of the last two seasons, they have ended up winning the trophy, actually coming from 2-0 down to beat Hull in the 2014 final. 

That means they have no lost in this competition for three years, so it’s a particularly daunting prospect for Hull to visit the Emirates Stadium. 

However, both teams will be distracted. Steve Bruce’s side have a promotion push to worry about, and Arsenal have a UEFA Champions League tie with Barcelona looming on Tuesday night. It will be fascinating to see which of these two sides manages to focus better on the task at hand.

Date: Saturday, February 20 

Time: 12.45 p.m. GMT/7.45 a.m. ET

Location: Emirates Stadium, London

Television coverage: BT Sport 2 / BT Sport 2 HD / BT Sport Ultra HD (UK only), Fox Sports 1 / Fox Deportes (U.S. only) 

Streaming: BT Sport app (UK only), Fox Soccer 2Go (U.S. only) 

Form

Arsenal 

L (0-1) vs. Chelsea

W (2-1) vs. Burnley

D (0-0) vs. Southampton

W (0-2) vs. Bournemouth

W (2-1) vs. Leicester City

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

Hull 

W (0-1) vs. Fulham

W (1-3) vs. Bury

L (1-0) vs. Burnley

W (0-2) vs. Blackburn Rovers

D (0-0) vs. Brighton and Hove Albion

Arsenal have won nine of their last 10 matches against Hull, drawing the other. They have also won their last eight FA Cup ties at the Emirates Stadium.

Hull have only once won away to Arsenal in their entire history—a shock Premier League victory back in 2008.

The Managers

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Wenger has a proud record in this competition and will be eager to defend it. He has won an incredible 71 of his 99 FA Cup matches in charge of the Gunners, and he has no intention of damaging that record on Saturday. A motivated Wenger told his club's official site:

"

I believe the first game on television I ever saw in France was an FA Cup game. We had no television and we had to go to school where we had a black and white screen and we could watch the FA Cup final. 

At that time I could never imagine I would play 100 FA Cup games. It is a privilege, because 100 is quite a big number and we have always done well in the FA Cup most of the time. I want to defend my record [against Hull City] on Saturday.

"

In the buildup to this game, Bruce has been significantly less bullish. He knows Hull’s absolute priority this season is promotion, which may have to come at the cost of their cup campaign. Bruce told his team's website: "Making changes is the only option I’ve got. After Arsenal, we play again on Tuesday and then Friday so I have to make sure we’re fresh enough to compete in those games as well."

While Bruce will expect any team he puts out to give Arsenal a test, it’s very clear he sees Hull’s league campaign as more important.

Team News

Arsenal

For the first time in a while, Wenger has the flexibility to make a raft of changes without significantly weakening his team. After coming on to score as substitutes in Arsenal's last game, the 2-1 victory over Leicester City on Sunday, Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott are both likely to start in attack.

In midfield, new boy Mohamed Elneny will get the chance to make just his second start in an Arsenal shirt. David Ospina will come in for Petr Cech in goal, while youngster Alex Iwobi could be afforded another opportunity in the No. 10 role.

The one area where Wenger’s options are a little restricted is in defence. With Gabriel Paulista out injured and Mathieu Debuchy on loan at Bordeaux, Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny may have to face both Hull and Barcelona.

Predicted Arsenal XI (4-2-3-1): David Ospina; Calum Chambers, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Kieran Gibbs; Mathieu Flamini, Mohamed Elneny; Joel Campbell, Alex Iwobi, Theo Walcott; Danny Welbeck.

Hull 

As is made clear above, Bruce is intent on making sweeping changes to his side. Two players who won’t be available are Isaac Hayden and Chuba Akpom. The on-loan pair of Arsenal youngsters have been denied the chance to play this game, which will be particularly disappointing for Akpom, who grabbed a hat-trick in the last round against Bury.

Predicted Hull XI (4-4-2): Allan McGregor, Moses Odubajo, Michael Dawson, Brian Lenihan, Andrew Robertson; Ahmed Elmohamady, David Meyler, Jake Livermore, Nick Powell; Adama Diomande, Sone Aluko.

Players to Watch

Arsenal: Danny Welbeck

Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

When Welbeck steps out to make his first start in more than 10 months, he’ll certainly be up for it. Having made a spectacular scoring return as a substitute last time out, he’ll be itching to be part of the starting XI.

The indications are he’s ready. Although he looked impressively fit and sharp in his brief cameo against the Foxes, it’s his mental strength that has impressed his manager. In his pre-match press conference, Wenger told the team's site:

"

It’s always a good observation of character and the resilience of a person when they are injured for such a long time. You look at how he resists the stress of not being able to play, how much he can respond with the effort he puts into his rehab, and how focused he can be every day when he goes step by step slowly.

I think he has become a stronger man with what happened to him. He is already experienced, physically he is back to his best, so I believe the best is still to come for him.

"

With stiff competition for a starting place from the likes of Walcott and Olivier Giroud, Welbeck will need to show that resilience if he is to get regular football between now and the end of the season.

Hull: Nick Powell

Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images

After making just two appearances for Manchester United this season, Powell will be equally eager to impress when he gets his opportunity against Arsenal. Hull’s new loan signing is poised for his Tigers debut, and manager Bruce said to Hull’s official website:

"

Nick will definitely play. When you look at a game like we had on Tuesday night against Brighton, Nick could be just the type of player we’re looking for and he will have a big part to play in the coming weeks. I’ve told him that. He’s versatile and can play as a striker or as a midfielder and I’m sure he can give us that bit of impetus.

"

Powell’s quality is undoubted, but he’s yet to capitalise on his potential. Bruce has a good record of managing loan talents and will hope he can bring the best out of this promising starlet during his time with the Tigers.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout 2015/16. Follow him on Twitter here.