Hull City know all about achieving success in the Sky Bet Championship, having emerged victorious in the 2016 Play-Off Final. They return to the division this year after narrowly missing out on survival in the Premier League, but will the Tigers be able to bounce back and climb out of the second tier once again?

2016/17 – in brief

Played (all competitions): 46 games
League position: 18th – 34 points
Goals scored: 37
Most appearances: Sam Clucas – 41 (all competitions)
Top goalscorer: Robert Snodgrass – 9 (all competitions)

History

The aforementioned play-off triumph was the third of three promotions from England’s second tier for the Humberside-based club in just under 10 years.
The first of that trio of Championship success stories came under the Wembley arch in 2008, with Dean Windass’ unstoppable volley against Bristol City securing top-flight football for Hull for the first time in their history.
Automatic promotion then followed in 2013, as a second-placed finish ensured another stint in the top tier.

The manager

Having spent his entire managerial career in his native Russia, Leonid Slutsky will taste English football for the first time when the Tigers get their Championship campaign under way on Saturday 5th August.
In 2009, Slutsky became the first manager to guide CSKA Moscow to the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League. The feat was repeated just two years later, as his side emerged triumphant over Inter Milan to secure their passage into the last 16.
The 46-year-old has also managed his national side and, following the resignation of Fabio Capello in 2015, Slutsky led Russia to EURO 2016 - winning all of his qualifying fixtures in the process.

The club – in brief
Name: Hull City
Known as: The Tigers
Founded: 1904
Stadium: The KCOM Stadium (25,586)

Need to know: Involved in English football’s first penalty shootout, when they faced Manchester United in the Watney Cup back in 1970