Hull City welcome Everton to the Premier League with a significant gulf in preparation behind them. The hosts carry a weighted form score of 6.4 out of 10 across their last four matches, all summer friendlies, while the visitors arrive rated at just 4.1 from five pre-season outings. That 2.3-point gap suggests Hull have found more rhythm in the warm-up fixtures, though both sides remain untested in competitive action this campaign.

Hull's four friendlies yielded 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat, producing 6 goals and conceding 4. They opened with a commanding 3-0 victory and followed it with a 2-1 win before drawing 1-1 and closing pre-season with a 0-2 reverse. The hosts found the net in 3 of those 4 matches and kept 1 clean sheet. Their season profile shows 10.2 shots per game, 4 on target, and 1.21 expected goals across a 5-match sample. Possession sits at 40 percent, with 4.2 corners per outing, and they have recorded a clean sheet in 44 percent of fixtures while failing to score in just 22 percent. That defensive record offers encouragement, though the sample remains modest.

Everton's preparations have followed a more erratic path. Across 5 friendlies they managed 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 defeats, scoring 7 and conceding 5. They opened with a 4-0 rout, drew 0-0, lost 0-1, won 2-1 and then shipped 3 goals in a 1-3 defeat in their final run-out. They found the net in only 3 of those 5 matches and kept 2 clean sheets, but failed to score in 30 percent of games. Their per-game averages include 11.6 shots, 4 on target, 5.8 corners and 44 percent possession, alongside a notably high 14.2 fouls and 3 yellow cards. Expected goals stand at 1.44 per match, fractionally above Hull's, yet their clean sheet rate of 20 percent is less than half the hosts' figure.

The head-to-head ledger across the last 7 meetings favours Everton heavily, with 4 wins to Hull's 1 and 2 draws. The most recent clash in January 2022 saw Everton edge a 3-2 thriller, while their 4-0 away victory in March 2017 underlined their historical dominance in this fixture. Of the 5 itemised encounters, 3.14 goals have been scored per meeting on average, with both teams finding the net in 4 of the 7 and over 2.5 goals landing in 4 of 7. Hull's solitary win came in January 2015 when they took the fixture 2-0, and they also drew 2-2 at home in December 2016 and 1-1 away in December 2014.

With Everton's superior shot volume and expected goals offset by their weaker defensive numbers and patchy form, Hull's steadier summer and stronger clean-sheet habit suggest they can avoid the heavy defeats that mark the recent series. The 3.14 goals-per-meeting average and the frequency of both teams scoring point toward an open contest, but Hull's edge in preparation and defensive solidity may prove decisive in a fixture where the head-to-head history no longer reflects the current form gap.