After their strong start to life back in the Championship, Hull City will play host to Wigan Athletic in EFL Cup action on Tuesday.

The hosts started with a 4-1 victory over Preston North End, while their visitors suffered a defeat to Sunderland on the opening day of the League One season.

Match preview

Following their relegation from the second tier in the 2019-20 season, Grant McCann guided Hull City to promotion at the first time of asking last year, as the Tigers topped League One with 89 points.

He led his side into their first game back in the Championship on Saturday, as they made the trip to Deepdale to take on Preston North End.

Hull did not get off to a good start, as Emil Riis Jakobsen put the hosts ahead inside the first 10 minutes, but a Keane Lewis-Potter equaliser meant they went into the break level.

Captain Richie Smallwood then put them ahead on the hour mark, and late goals from Josh Magennis and Andy Cannon secured the opening victory.

On a high from that strong start, the Tigers will now turn their attention to cup action as they take on a Wigan side who they did the double over in League One last season.

That included a dominant 5-0 away win in February, but the Latics have noticeably improved since the beginning of this year and will be keen to inflict a defeat on the Humber outfit this time.

Wigan were relegated from the Championship in the same year as Hull, finishing just two points above Tuesday's opponents at the foot of the table, although they did pick up an eye-catching 8-0 win over the Tigers in that campaign.

With issues both on and off the field, the Latics did not enjoy the same success as Tuesday's opponents in League One last year, sitting in the relegation zone for the majority of the campaign.

Heading into the final six games of the season, the Lancashire outfit remained in the bottom four, but Leam Richardson guided them to three consecutive victories, defeating Doncaster Rovers, Crewe Alexandra and Shrewsbury Town to move out of the drop zone.

Having already confirmed their survival before the final day, Richardson's men finished a point above the drop zone, and, with an exciting crop of new players, they will be keen to make a huge improvement this season, aiming for the other end of the division.

They did not have the ideal start on Saturday though, with a trip to Sunderland resulting in a 2-1 defeat as Gwion Edwards's early opener was immediately cancelled out by an Aiden McGeady equaliser before Ross Stewart hit the winner for the Black Cats early in the second half.

The Latics will now look to record what would be an impressive victory over Championship opposition to build confidence as they aim to establish themselves at the top end of the League One table.

Team News

An early cup encounter does give managers an opportunity to experiment with their team selection, and McCann could take a look at several players who did not feature heavily on Saturday.

Left-back Callum Elder should remain out of action, meaning Brandon Fleming or Josh Emmanuel will feature in the back four, while new winger Randell Williams was also ruled out of the season opener and should not be rushed back.

Important midfielder George Honeyman will miss the opening spell of the season through injury, while summer signing George Moncur could be given more minutes after making his competitive Tigers debut at Deepdale.

Richardson will also take the opportunity to look at several of Wigan's new arrivals, after midfielder Jordan Cousins featured off the bench on Saturday while striker Stephen Humphrys only played the final 10 minutes.

Marquee signings Charlie Wyke and Max Power both featured against their former club in the opening defeat to Sunderland, but as two of the Latics' most important players, they may be saved for league action.

Winger Gwion Edwards scored on his Wigan debut in that game, and he will likely be deployed again as Richardson hopes his attacker builds a run of goals.

Hull City possible starting lineup:
Ingram; Coyle, Bernard, Greaves, Fleming; Cannon, Smith; Lewis-Potter, Moncur, Wilks; Eaves

Wigan Athletic possible starting lineup:
Amos; Dariwka, Long, Whatmough, Robinson; Cousins, Naylor; Edwards, Keane, Lang; Humphrys

We say: Hull City 2-1 Wigan Athletic

Even with squad rotation potentially taking place, the Tigers come into Tuesday's clash as favourites, and we see them making it two wins from two to start the season and advance to the second round of the EFL Cup.

McCann's men put in an eye-catching performance on Saturday, and a similar showing on Tuesday would likely see them brush the Latics aside.

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