Hull City vs. Manchester City: Team News, Preview, Live Stream, TV Info

Manchester City will look to heap further misery on a Hull City side that is winless in six games when they travel to the KCOM Stadium on Boxing Day.

The Tigers face an uphill battle for survival after spending Christmas at the foot of the table, and their task will get even harder when Pep Guardiola's Sky Blues come to town.

Read on for a complete preview of the game, including viewing details and the latest team news:

Date: Monday, December 26

Time: 5:15 p.m. GMT/12:15 p.m. ET

TV: Sky Sports 1 (UK), NBCSN (USA)

Live Stream: Sky Go (UK), NBC Sports Live (USA)

Team News

Per The Sun's Sam Street, the hosts are missing Abel Hernandez, Moses Odubajo, Greg Luer and Will Keane through injury, while the visitors are without the injured Ilkay Gundogan, Vincent Kompany and Pablo Zabaleta.

Sergio Aguero will also miss the game as he serves the fourth and final game of his ban.

Predicted Hull City lineup: David Marshall; Harry Maguire, Curtis Davies, Michael Dawson; Ahmed Elmohamady, Jake Livermore, Tom Huddlestone, Sam Clucas, Andrew Robertson, Robert Snodgrass; Dieumerci Mbokani

Predicted Manchester City lineup: Claudio Bravo; Bacary Sagna, Nicolas Otamendi, Aleksandar Kolarov, Gael Clichy; Fernandinho, Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Leroy Sane; Nolito

Preview

Manchester City come into the game on the back of a vital 2-1 win over Arsenal but still find themselves seven points behind Chelsea, who could extend it 10 before the Citizens kick off on Boxing Day, so three points are a must to remain in the title race.

As noted by the Hull Daily Mail's Philip Buckingham, the two managers have adopted a different approach to their preparation for the game:

The merits of Guardiola's decision to keep his players in training over Christmas could be borne out during the game by keeping them focused, which they'll need to avoid complacency against Hull.

The Sky Blues have strung two wins together after losing back-to-back games at the start of the month, but even in the victory over Arsenal, they showed their vulnerability, as noted by Goal's Sam Lee:

Hull will hope to capitalise on City's failings at the KCOM, but that will be easier said than done for the team with the worst attack and second-worst defence in the league, particularly if City are able to replicate their second-half performance against the Gunners.

The Press Association's Andy Hampson commented on their improvement:

A similarly committed performance against the Tigers will likely yield success on Monday—Hull have won just once since August and have conceded 36 goals, so coping with any pressure City build will be a struggle.

That will especially be the case if David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne are at their creative best—they each provided an assist to help City's comeback last time out. Squawka Football hailed the playmaking duo:

Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane were also crucial—they netted the two goals—and they'll look to stretch the Tigers with their pace and dribbling, and they can cause real problems if given the opportunity.

Hull were unfortunate to lose to West Ham United in their last outing having dominated the game, and the likes of Robert Snodgrass can give City pause when they push forward, but it's difficult to see them getting anything here.