Seven points from three games - are Hull on track to avoid relegation? — SkimNews
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- Hull City have taken 7 points from their opening 3 Premier League matches — beating Manchester United and Coventry City before drawing 0-0 with Aston Villa — sitting 2 points behind pacesetters Manchester City.
- Hull's three-man defense of John Egan, Semi Ajayi, and Nobel Mendy has yet to concede, matching a feat only Charlton (1998-99) and Huddersfield (2017-18) managed in their first three league games after promotion.
- No newly promoted side has ever been relegated after taking 7+ points from their opening 3 Premier League matches, and only 3 of the 78 teams to reach that threshold — Wolves (2011-12), West Brom (2017-18), and Leeds (2022-23) — have gone down, roughly 4%.
- Head coach Sergej Jakirovic took over a Hull side under a transfer embargo last season, guided them to promotion via Oli McBurnie's last-gasp playoff winner against Middlesbrough, and signed a two-year contract extension on Friday.
- Hull were the busiest Premier League side in the summer transfer window with 18 signings for approximately £150m, including £22m deadline-day arrival Tim Iroegbunam from Everton.
- Hull have had just 29% possession this season — the lowest in the division and the second-lowest over an opening three matches since 2003-04, behind only West Ham's 27% in 2023-24.
- Jakirovic has set a survival target of 38-40 points: "Our goal is to collect the points. I think around 38-40 points, so as soon as possible to get these points."
Why it matters: Hull's 7-point haul matches a threshold that 96% of teams historically used to survive relegation. Three clean sheets — a post-promotion feat only Charlton and Huddersfield matched — plus a £150m squad overhaul give Jakirovic a rare early-season platform, though his stated 38-40 point target keeps survival as the only real measure.
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