Dyche expecting tough test against Tigers

The fixture pits together the division’s most prolific sides with the pair currently topping the form charts for the last six games.

The clash will also see the second tier’s most clinical strikers feature with the Tigers’ £9m frontman Abel Hernandez just three goals shy of Andre Gray’s tally of 18.

“They’ve got some good players,” Dyche said. “They’ve invested heavily in the last couple of years and they’ve kept a lot of those players.

“They’re proving to be a tough side to beat this season, as are we. That makes for a good game.

“There are no such things as easy games. You can see the weirdness of the division and the madness of the results. The Championship is historically like that. We beat Derby 4-1, does that make it an easy game? Absolutely not. I don’t take anything for granted and neither do my players.”

Steve Bruce’s side ran out comfortable winners at the KC Stadium on Boxing Day but Dyche felt that the game was much closer than the scoreline suggests.

“I think Steve is terrific, he’s terrific as a bloke and outstanding as a football man and he summed it up best afterwards when he said the difference on the day was the fella who scored the first for us was £11million and the fella who scored the second was £8million,” said Dyche.

“That summed it up perfectly. The quality they’ve brought in over the last couple of years can be the difference in a tight affair.

“I think Steve is very fair. He never gives you any nonsense, he calls it as it is and I always look forward to spending time with him, as I will do after the game this weekend, hopefully with the right outcome.”