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The Championship season kicks off on Friday with Hull City hosting recently relegated Blackpool at the KC Stadium.
Both teams will be hoping for a positive start to the new campaign as they look to launch promotion bids this season.
Hull showed signs of their potential under Nigel Pearson last year as they finished 11th in the table, but they will be targeting improvements this time around.
Blackpool on the other hand will be after an immediate return to the Premier League. This is never easy of course, but Ian Holloway will have confidence in his squad to perform for him at this level once again.
They have lost some key players though, including captain Charlie Adam to Liverpool and striker DJ Campbell to Premier League new boys Queens Park Rangers.
Coming in, Holloway has been busy in the transfer market, dealing largely in free transfers as he looks to assemble a squad capable of promotion.
Amongst those joining the Tangerines are experienced forward Kevin Phillips, former Scotland captain Barry Ferguson and ex-Wolves defender Matt Hill.
As for Hull, they have only lost Nolberto Solano of note, but have brought in five new players including Dele Adebola and Paul McKenna from Nottingham Forest and young defender Joe Dudgeon from Manchester United.
Pearson is certainly planning big things for Hull City this season and they are certain amongst a significant group of teams capable of launching a play-off bid at the very least.
Blackpool need to have a strong season too. If they fail to go up this year, more players will leave and the task of returning to the Premier League quickly will become more difficult as each season passes.
As for Friday night’s game, it may not be a massive indication of the type of campaigns these two teams are going to have, but it is a good chance to get some momentum going into the first few weeks of the season.
Looking at the team news for his one, Jack Hobbs is expected to be fit for Hull, while Blackpool duo Matt Hill and Rob Harris are pushing for a place in Holloway’s starting eleven.
Overall, it should be an entertaining evening at the KC Stadium. Both sets of fans will be exciting for the new season to get underway and this should create a fantastic atmosphere.
As for Saturday, there are 10 further games in the Championship, with Coventy v Leicester and Southampton v Leeds the two stand out fixtures.
