This is Hull and East Riding -- STEVE Bruce wants his Hull City side to draw inspiration from their historic win over Liverpool and claim another famous scalp when Manchester United arrive at a sold-out KC Stadium this lunchtime. The most-eagerly anticipated fixture of City's season sees David Moyes bring his star-studded United side to East Yorkshire aiming to avoid the fate that befell Premier League leaders Liverpool at the start of the month. A 3-1 win over the Reds stands as the highlight of the Tigers' bright return to the top-flight as an outstanding team performance earned three unforgettable points. City will again assume the role of underdogs for the visit of United today and Bruce is urging his side to seize the moment once more. "We've played particularly well against the big teams and, touch wood, none of them have blown us away," said Bruce, who is still searching for his first managerial win over his former club. "We've been there or thereabouts and hopefully we can do that. "Against Liverpool we kept hold of the ball and were spot-on defensively. "But the most important thing is, in that game, we played well ourselves and caused Liverpool a few problems. "That's what we'll have to do. We can't defend for 90 minutes, we've got to cause Man United a few problems if we possibly can." If the pattern at the KC Stadium this season is anything to go by, United will not have it easy against a side led by their one-time Premier League winning captain. City have only been beaten once in eight games on home soil since winning promotion out of the Championship and conceded just three goals. The Tigers' defensive record at home, in fact, is the third best in Europe, bettered only by Italian giants Roma and French side Lille. "We have to look at ourselves," added Bruce. "We should pride ourselves on being difficult to play against. "Our home form is good and that's vitally important because we needed it to be." With struggling Fulham also due at the KC Stadium on Saturday, a hectic end to 2013 gives City the chance to pull further clear of the drop zone. A seven-point cushion gives room to breathe but Bruce knows a big period begins here. "Boxing Day is always a great occasion and with Man United coming to town the atmosphere will be crackling," he added. "After that it's back to Fulham and that's arguably the bigger game for us. "The expectation will be on us to get something from that game where as the bookmakers won't have us down for anything against Man United. We'll give it our best shot." This lunchtime's game will be overseen by Michael Oliver, the referee Bruce lambasted after a controversial penalty decision condemned City to a 1-0 defeat at Tottenham in October. Bruce was fined £10,000 for his post-match comments aimed at the Northumberland official but he will have no issue welcoming Oliver to the KC Stadium today. "He owes me £10k," joked Bruce. "No, things happen. We all make mistakes, say things out of turn. "He's a very good referee. Let's hope he has one of his better days, not like he did against Tottenham."
Reported by This is 19 hours ago.
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