The Hull City Tigers and KSC Lokeren are playing live on the Europa League playoff schedule on Wednesday and the match is live at the Daknamstadion in Belgium before the return leg and this first leg match is big for both teams and starts up at 2:30 pm ET and is streaming online for the qualifying matches, as this year a Champions League spot is on the line for the winner of this tourney.
Hull City is looking to get started off on the right track for this playoff and they have the chance to do that with a fast performance in the first leg. Hull comes in after getting off to a nice start in the Premier League and they won over Queens Park Rangers in their first game since getting promoted to the EPL and now the Europa League has this qualifier matchup to see who will get into group play. The Europa League will be into the Champions League and that makes things very interesting as these teams try and get through.
Tottenham played on Thursday and Arsenal played earlier in the week the Gunners started off with a scoreless draw away to open things in their playoff. Hull has the chance to start things off well and they will get a debut from Harry Maguire and he comes in after signing earlier in the summer and he did not play in the earlier matches against Trencin or QPR and now he will be in, while manager Steve Bruce has the chance to use Yannick Sagbo, while Robert Snodgrass will be out with an injury.
Last season Hull City ended up in 16th place in the Premier League standings and that came the year after the team was promoted from the Championship. The team was able to remain in the EPL by securing that place and they also made it into the League Cup fourth round and also faced off against Arsenal for the FA Cup and that was the first time the team made it to the final in that competition.
The team has two games coming and they have the chance to start off well and it comes ahead of the team playing back in the Premier League after winning over QPR 1-0 on the road and that could give the Tigers some momentum for this matchup. Maguire comes in on a three year contract and he will get the chance to make his debut and that is big for the team, as they are playing an opponent that qualified for the Cup tournament after winning the Belgian Cup last season and the team also ended up in fifth place in the Belgian Pro League standings.
The Europe League has some added significance with the Champions League spot on the line for the winner and Hull could be a sleeper. The team has confidence after the way they played at times last season and this could be a big matchup for the team as they move along.
Check here for the Hull City Tigers and KSC Lokeren live coverage for the Europa League.