Peterborough United v Hull City - A Fans Preview

Peterborough United face their former striker Aaron McLean for the first time since selling him to Saturday`s opponents Hull City.

Posh are likely to be without defender Gabriel Zakuani who admitted after their last game against Brighton that he played with a broken foot! Scott Wootton is expected to return in his place.

Darren Ferguson has selection problems of the good variety for the forthcoming game. A promising display by Posh`s new recruits and fringe players against non-league St Albans on Monday night means Fergie Jnr has a dilemma of who to select and which unfortunate players will be left out of the 16 man squad for the game.

Newcomers Daniel Kearns and Emile Sinclair both impressed on their debut as Kearns showed his intelligence and skill during the game which he capped off with a goal, while Sinclair showed the St Albans defence a clean pair of heals on many occasion during the game. Although Sinclair didn`t score, he did create problems for the opposition defence and also set up chances for other players.

Ben Gordon has featured on the bench since arriving on loan from Chelsea, but was another one to impress in the friendly. Could he oust Craig Alcock from the left back position? As good as Alcock is, he has no left foot and always comes in on his right foot when a good quick left footed cross or pass was needed. I believe this may be one change Fergie makes on Saturday.

Another tough decision Fergie has to make is who should play between the sticks. Paul Jones has played all season while Joe Lewis has been recovering from the dislocated knee he received in last seasons League One Play-off first leg match at MK Dons. Jones has had an indifferent start with some games being outstanding while other games has been poor and has made very basic mistakes which cost Posh vital goals against. Despite a good showing by Lewis on Monday which included coming out on many occasions to claim the ball, something he is often accused of not doing in the past, I can see Jones retaining the number 1 spot, for this week at least. Unless Lewis goes out on loan, I can see Lewis getting his place back sooner rather than later.

One thing I`d be wary of is Grant McCann who is returning from international duty with Northern Ireland. He has so often had a disappointing game for Posh after returning from international duty. Should he start or should he be a sub?

If I was picking the team for this weeks game against Hull, I`d go for:

Lewis
Little
Bennett
Wootton
Gordon
Frecklington
McCann
Tunnicliffe
Boyd
Tomlin
Taylor



I believe Lewis is the better keeper and now he`s proved his fitness, he should return to the starting line up.

Craig Alcock could be unfortunate in that he gives way to Ben Gordon. Alcock has played well but we really need a proper left back in the left back position.

Ryan Tunnicliffe has done well whenever he`s played and deserves to be given a chance to start. With McCann returning from 2 international matches, he may struggle to finish the game. I`m in two minds whether he should start or not but by having Tunnicliffe next to him, who has the energy to run and hassle the opposition, it could be the ideal solution for this weeks game.

Up front, I`d keep Taylor on to start as he`s done well so far. We now have more attacking threat available on the bench so we could change things round if things don`t work out.

Once Fergie has finalised his starting 11, he has another tough decision as to who should fill the 5 sub spots. Fergie has so far selected two defenders in the list of 5 subs; could this week change as he has more options available to him in the midfield and forward positions.

I would select the two new lads, Kearns and Sinclair as two of the subs and introduce them gently. My subs bench would look like:

Jones
Alcock
Kearns
Rowe
Sinclair


Which means, amongst others, Josh Thompson and Nicky Ajose would miss out this week.

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