The 3 key battles as Hull City host Manchester United in the League Cup

Michael Dawson v Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is once again expected to lead the line for Manchester United on Thursday, and his excellent recent run of form will undoubtedly concern the Hull backline.

The Swedish star has scored 13 goals in his last 14 appearances for United, taking his tally to 19 for the season, 14 of which have come in the Premier League.

Although he didn’t net against Stoke at the weekend, the 35-year-old still caused the backline problems and did a good job for the team in the defensive areas, so even when he’s not necessarily scoring, Ibrahimovic is in some way influencing the game.

And it will be up to Hull’s experienced captain Michael Dawson to thwart that influence on Thursday night.

The former Spurs man looked set to go and become an excellent defender for club and country many years ago, but injury somewhat stunted that progress, yet he has shown signs at Hull in recent times of that defender who played over 300 times for Tottenham.

At 33, Dawson is still playing well, and was part of a Hull defence that was solid for the most part at Chelsea last weekend – Ibrahimovic will be another challenge he relishes on Thursday night.