da supremo： Tonight sees Hull City and Manchester United have the final say on the EFL Cup semi-finals, as the two sides partake in the second leg at the KCOM Stadium.

da betway： They may have endured a 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford, but Marco Silva will feel his side escaped relatively unscathed considering injuries forced him to choose just a six-man bench a fortnight ago.

Of course, turning around a 2-0 deficit, even when backed by the home support, is a pretty difficult challenge, especially when facing a club with the quality, finance and resources of Manchester United.

But the Tigers have been on a notable upward trajectory since Silva took the reigns from Mike Phelan at the start of January and FootballFanCast certainly aren’t ruling anything out before kick-off.

We are, however, as keen as ever to discover what the statistics can tell us to expect from tonight’s game. With that in mind, here’s a look at THREE key stats every Hull and Man United fan needs to know.

Hull a threat from set pieces

Hull may have scored the second-fewest goals of any Premier League side this term but if there’s one area where the Tigers are decisively potent, it’s at set pieces. Indeed, the Humbersiders rank joint-sixth in the Premier League in this regard, notably higher than Manchester United, and their three-at-the-back formation provides plenty of aerial dominance in the opposition box. In fact, their second-highest scorer in the top flight this term is centre-half Michael Dawson, with three goals from 14 outings.

Although he may not be the most popular figure amongst the Red Devils fan base, such threat at set pieces could call for the services of lanky midfielder Marouane Fellaini – especially considering only Watford have committed more fouls-per-match than United in the Premier League so far this season, so Hull will get chances from dead ball situations.

Majestic Maguire

Don’t be fooled by the ‘routine win’ connotations that come with a 2-0 scoreline. Hull gave as good as Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last weekend and were it not for the seeming inevitability of a second-bottom side travelling to the home of Premier League champions in waiting, they may well have come away from west London with a point or three to their name.

Crucial to their defiant performance was Harry Maguire, who finished the match with the most aerial duels won, tackles, clearances and interceptions of any player involved. He also ranked highest in terms of successful dribbles, took two shots at goal and laid on one chance for a team-mate, showing how impressive he was not only defensively but also when bringing the ball out of the back.

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That could be pivotal when Manchester United come to town; assuming Jose Mourinho will stick with his usual 4-2-3-1 formation, the presence of a lone striker will give Maguire time to step forward on the ball.

History suggests only one result

This set of statistics will make particularly grim reading for Hull City fans. Rather incredibly, the Tigers have avoided defeat on just nine of the 30 occasions in which they’ve faced Manchester United, picking up wins on only five occasions, to produce an aggregate scoreline of 61-22. Their last win over the Red Devils came all the way back in 1974, with three of the remaining four predating World War Two. Indeed, history only suggests one result at the KCOM Stadium tonight – but if football has one divine gift, it’s the ability to produce surprises when we least expect it.