Hull City host Brentford at the MKM Stadium on Sunday afternoon in the first top-flight meeting between the two clubs, and Sergej Jakirovic is expected to keep faith with the 5-4-1 that has made the Tigers hard to beat at home despite a seven-man injury list.

The context: unbeaten at home, winless in five

Hull’s first Premier League season in ten years began with clean-sheet wins over Manchester United and Coventry City, but the recent run has been harder. Jakirovic’s side have taken one point from their last three games and are winless in five in the league, a run that bottomed out in last Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Fulham, where Hull did not manage a shot on target.

The home record tells a different story. Hull are unbeaten at the MKM Stadium this season, with one win and two draws, and they have kept clean sheets in two of those three games. They start the afternoon on nine points, one behind Brentford, whose predicted side we set out in our Brentford lineup for this fixture.

Team news: seven out, two back in training

Jakirovic is without seven players. Jack Butland has an elbow injury, Matt Targett an ankle problem, Charlie Hughes, Darko Gyabi and Nobel Mendy are all out with groin injuries, Eliot Matazo has a knee injury and Ilyas Ansah a back problem. Mendy is due back in training on Monday, with the home game against Ipswich Town on 31 October the target for his return to the squad.

There is better news further forward. Mohamed Ali-Cho and Lucas Gourna-Douath have both returned to training after missing the last two games and are in contention for places in the squad, while Robinio Vaz has avoided any lasting damage from the tackle that brought Ryan Sessegnon’s red card at Fulham last weekend, an incident covered in our player ratings from that game.

Hull City predicted XI

With Hughes and Mendy both out, the back five picks itself. Konstantinos Tzolakis continues in goal behind Lewie Coyle and Ryan Giles at wing-back, with Semi Ajayi, John Egan and Lucas Herrington as the three centre-backs. It is the same defensive unit that started the 2-2 draw with Everton at this ground a fortnight ago, a game rated in our Hull City 2-2 Everton player ratings.

Hull City predicted XI (5-4-1)

In front of the back five, Mohamed Belloumi and Sorba Thomas take the wide midfield roles, with Regan Slater and Tim Iroegbunam in the centre. Matt Crooks is the alternative to Iroegbunam if Jakirovic wants a more physical pairing against Brentford’s midfield. Oli McBurnie leads the line on his own, as he has done all season.

How the game shapes up

Hull’s plan at home has been consistent: a compact 5-4-1, low possession, and McBurnie’s aerial presence as the outlet, with Belloumi the player most likely to turn a second ball into an attack. The test on Sunday is whether that block can hold a Brentford side who have scored 13 league goals, the fourth-highest total in the division, but who have drawn all three of their away games and arrive with both first-choice central midfielders suspended.

The openings for Hull are at the edges of Brentford’s reshaped midfield and from set pieces, where McBurnie against a back four missing its usual screen is a match-up Jakirovic will target. A win would lift Hull above Brentford in the table and end the five-game wait for a league victory.

The lineup in full

Hull City (5-4-1): Tzolakis; Coyle, Ajayi, Egan, Herrington, Giles; Belloumi, Iroegbunam, Slater, Thomas; McBurnie.

Kick-off at the MKM Stadium is at 2pm on Sunday, and the confirmed teams will be published an hour before the start.