Hello there and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of this afternoon's Premier League meeting between Manchester City and Hull City from the Etihad Stadium.

Right, we've got some team news in...

MAN CITY: Hart; Zabaleta, Kolarov, Nastasic, Lescott; Fernandinho, Toure, Silva; Aguero, Dzeko, Navas

I make that two changes to the Manchester City starting XI following last weekend's loss to Cardiff City. Matija Nastasic and Aleksandar Kolarov come into the defence in place of Javi Garcia and Gael Clichy.

HULL CITY: McGregor; Figueroa, Chester, Davies, Elmohamady; Huddlestone, Koren, Livermore, Brady; Aluko, Graham

Meanwhile, Hull boss Steve Bruce has made 11 (yes, 11) changes to the side that beat Leyton Orient in the Capital One Cup in midweek.

MAN CITY SUBS: Pantilimon, Clichy, Negredo, Milner, Nasri, Garcia, Jovetic

HULL CITY SUBS: Harper, McShane, Bruce, Rosenior, Meyler, Boyd, Quinn

I seem to say it every time that I cover Manchester City, but just look at that bench! What a wealth of talent Manuel Pellegrini has at his disposal this season.

However, one name absent from the Man City bench is that of Gareth Barry. The midfielder's future at the Etihad Stadium has been called into question in recent weeks as it looks like he might struggle to get a game this season. Everton are understood to be keen on the England international.

Anyway, back to business. Man City will be desperate to get back to winning ways today following last weekend's defeat to Cardiff City. The Blues looked frail at the back, so they will be buoyed by the return of Matija Nastasic.

Man City were not particularly bad last weekend, but they came up against a Cardiff side who gave absolutely everything. There will have been some concerns over Fernandinho and Jesus Navas's subdued displays, while Joe Hart's errors put the spotlight firmly on the England international.

To Manuel Pellegrini's credit, he was quick to defend the shotstopper, but there will be plenty of focus on Hart today.

While Man City had a wobble in Wales last weekend, Hull got their first points on the board with a 1-0 win over Norwich City. Robbie Brady scored the decisive goal from the penalty spot after the Tigers were reduced to 10 men early on with the dismissal of summer signing Yannick Sagbo.

Hull boss Steve Bruce has been keen to emphasise the importance of the team's home form, making the point earlier this week that games like today will not define the club's season. They arrive at the Etihad Stadium with nothing to lose.

Two players who will be vital to the Hull cause today are Allan McGregor and Sone Aluko. McGregor has already shown his worth in the team's opening two games of the campaign, while Aluko's return from injury is sure to give the visitors a useful outlet in the final third.

So, what about the last time that these two sides met? Funnily enough it was Hull who got the points thanks to a 2-1 win at the KC Stadium back in February 2010. The reverse fixture that season ended as a 1-1 draw.

The two clubs have only met 16 times down the years, the first of which was a 2-1 victory to Man City in 1909. Since then, the Blues have triumphed six times over Hull, while the Tigers have come out on top four times. The spoils have been shared on a further six occasions.

PREDICTION TIME: How do you see this one going today? You would have to be a brave soul to back Hull today as they come up against a Man City side out to make amends for last weekend's defeat at Cardiff. Anything other than a Man City win would be a surprise, though it is imperative that Hull do not concede early.

The Etihad Stadium is filling up nicely now with a few minutes to go until this one gets underway. The players are in the tunnel ready to walkout into the Manchester sunshine.

The pre-match rituals have been done, and it will be Hull City to get this one underway. Here we go!

Hull have started positively here. Aluko has already whipped a cross into the box, which Zabaleta cleared with Graham in attendance.

CHANCE! A bit of a dodgy moment in the Man City defence as Hart and Lescott both try to deal with a long ball, allowing Koren to gain possession. He tries to find Aluko, but the ball isn't a good one and the danger is dealt with.

WHAT A MISS! How has Aluko missed that? The striker breaks past the Man City defence, leaving him one on one with Hart, but he scuffs his shot wide with the goal at his mercy. What a let off for the hosts.

SAVE! Man City suddenly come to life as Kolarov's header from a corner is batted away by McGregor. The home side are starting to apply a bit of pressure now.

DISALLOWED GOAL! Graham thinks that he has given Hull the lead by volleying in Brady's cross, but the flag goes up correctly for offside. To be fair to the forward, it was a very good finish indeed. What a start we're getting here!

SAVE! Another wonderful stop from McGregor! The Scot just about gets his fingertips to Lescott's header following a dangerous cross from Silva.

CHANCE! Nearly a goal for Koren as the midfielder volleys inches wide after Man City had failed to clear their lines from Huddlestone's free kick. This game could be about 3-3, and we're only 15 minutes in!

Steve Bruce is out on the touchline shouting instructions at his players, but underneath he must be delighted with the way that they've started. Can they keep it up for the full 90 minutes though?

What Hull are doing right now is exploiting gaps in the Man City defence while hustling well in midfield. Huddlestone has been impressive so far, setting up attacks for the visitors as well as winning possession.

YELLOW CARD: The first booking of the game goes to Figueroa for a reckless challenge from behind on Navas. The Spaniard let out a nasty shriek at the point of impact. He looks to be okay though.

YELLOW CARD: A second booking follows almost instantly as Fernandinho gets a caution for chopping down Aluko.

A brief moment of panic in the Hull defence there as McGregor just about manages to punch away Zabaleta's cross. He had to get that spot on as there were plenty of blue shirts lurking in the penalty area, and he did.

Just a bit of bite entering this game now following those two yellow cards. Zabaleta goes into the back of Aluko while challenging for an aerial ball, but referee Phil Dowd doesn't deem it worthy of a booking.

A bit of a half chance for Man City as Fernandinho feeds the ball into the box, but Dzeko, Silva and Aguero get a bit muddled and Hull clear.

A touch of frustration is starting to ripple through sections of the home support now as Hull are making it very hard for Man City to break through and create clear chances. Huddlestone and Livermore are both showing plenty of composure in midfield for the visitors, distributing the ball nicely.

The hosts get a free kick in a dangerous area out wide, allowing Silva to whip the ball in. However, it's a poor delivery from the Spaniard and Hull clear their lines.

Silva gets another chance to float the ball into the Hull box, but again he fluffs his lines as the visitors hoof the ball away. Man City are starting to turn the screw a bit here as the half comes to a close.

CHANCE! Silva's corner is met by Toure, whose free header sails harmlessly over the crossbar. That was a good opening for the hosts.

A concern for Hull will be that McGregor is limping a bit at the moment. Will be interesting to see if he comes out for the second half.

There will be two minutes of added time at the end of the first half.

Referee Phil Dowd blows the half-time whistle with the teams level at the break. Hull should be delighted with the opening 45 minutes as they surprised everyone by coming out and attacking their opponents, while defending doggedly when needed. Meanwhile, Manchester City have been fairly lacklustre so far with a paucity of ideas in the final third. Not quite the game that we were all expecting, but a thrilling contest nonetheless.

The match started brightly as Hull did all of the pressing. There was plenty of menace up front in the form of Aluko, complementing the dynamism in midfield from Huddlestone and Livermore.

The best chance of the opening half came early on as Aluko somehow shot wide after being put through on goal. At the time it looked like that could have been costly for Hull, but to their credit they've kept going.

Man City haven't been awful by any means, but it was disappointing showing during that first half by their lofty standards. They managed to test McGregor in the Hull goal a handful of times, but very few of those chances were what you would call good ones.

One interesting statistic is that Man City have scored in each of their last 51 home matches in the Premier League. Is that run going to be thwarted today?

The players are back out and Man City have made a change, bringing on Alvaro Negredo in place of Edin Dzeko. The hosts get the second half underway.

Good news for Hull is that McGregor is still on the pitch. He looked to have tweaked a muscle during the first half, but seems to be okay.

MISS! Negredo almost makes as instant impact as he gets on the end of Silva's cross, but he gets it all wrong by heading wide. It seemed for a second there as if he lost the flight of the ball.

Man City are already looking far more purposeful at the start of this second half. Hull have hardly got out of their own half during the opening few minutes.

CHANCE! Hull get their first opportunity since the restart through Graham, who blasts his shot high over the crossbar after working himself some space inside the area.

CHANCE! Man City come close to breaking the deadlock as Silva's dinked cross is met by Navas, but the summer signing can only volley wide after some clever improvisation with his shot.

It looked as if Man City would dominate this second half after starting strongly, but Hull are now getting into their rhythm and making life difficult for the Blues.

YELLOW CARD: Nastasic is the latest name to go into the book for dragging Aluko to the ground.

The game has got a bit frantic in the last few minutes, with chances at both ends. Brady nearly got on the end of Figueroa's cross for Hull, while Negredo had his long-range effort blocked. Meanwhile, Koren goes into the book for a foul on Kolarov.

Man City have the breakthrough and it's summer signing Alvaro Negredo with his second goal in two games! The ball is floated towards the Spaniard in the penalty area and he heads it past McGregor.

SUBSTITUTION: Man City quickly make a change following the goal as Samir Nasri replaces David Silva.

While it is sheer joy for Man City, Hull are sure to feel a bit unlucky considering their performance up to this point. They've more than held their own today but now find themselves behind. What a cruel game this can be.

SUBSTITUTION: Hull are forced into a change here as Sone Aluko goes off with what looks like a slight muscle strain in his leg. He's replaced by Stephen Quinn.

SUBSTITUTION: Curtis Davies goes into the book now for clattering into Navas.

CHANCE! The resulting free kick sees Navas whip the ball into the box, which Nastasic gets his head to. However, the effort is weak and McGregor gathers the ball easily.

SUBSTITUTIONS: Hull make their second change as George Boyd comes on for Robert Koren. The substitute has a crack at goal straight away which he drags wide. Meanwhile, James Milner replaces Sergio Aguero for Man City.

There's 10 minutes to go of normal time and the game is getting stretched now. Hull are trying desperately to come away with something, but that's allowing Man City to break in numbers.

Huddlestone whips a free kick into the Man City box which Hart does well to punch clear. There has been plenty of focus on the England international this week, but he's been largely solid this afternoon.

Fernandinho, who has been fairly anonymous for Man City today, smashes the ball high and wide from about 25 yards. It would be easy to get on the Brazilian's case considering his humoungous transfer fee, though it has to be said that he has been disappointing in his opening few matches for the club.

Make no mistake, Hull are really pushing for an equaliser here. They've asked a couple of questions of the Man City defence in the last couple of minutes.

Game, set and match to Man City as Yaya Toure makes it 2-0. The captain scored a peach of a free kick against Newcastle a couple of weeks ago and he's scored an almost identical one here. There was no stopping it. Three minutes added time.

The full-time whistle goes and it is Manchester City who get the win thanks to goals from Alvaro Negredo and Yaya Toure. However, Hull were more than a match for them and quite possibly deserved to come away from the Etihad Stadium with a point.

Anyway, that's all from me for now. Don't forget that we have live text coverage of all of today's other matches from the Premier League, so have a look around and take your pick of the action. Enjoy the rest of your afternoon and goodbye!