The Tigers are back on home turf and looking for a response to their defeat at Fulham

Sergej Jakirovic's squad will be boosted by the returns of midfielder Lucas Gourna-Douath and winger Mohamed-Ali Cho for Sunday's MKM Stadium meeting with Brentford.

City will be looking to return to winning ways in front of their own supporters and put the disappointment of last weekend's defeat at Fulham behind them as they look for a first victory since the end of August.

Though the Tigers will still be without Nobel Mendy, the returns of Cho and Gourna-Douath after they both missed Everton and Fulham will offer Jakirovic fresh options as he looks to shake things up after a sub-standard showing at Craven Cottage.

There was good news on Robinio Vaz, with the Roma loanee showing no signs of reaction to the tackle that saw him struggling to walk after being on the wrong end of Ryan Sessegnon's awful challenge deep into stoppage time. The 19-year-old will be in the squad this weekend to face the Bees.

Initial concern suggested the injury could be serious, but an MRI scan later revealed there was no damage, and he returned to training on Tuesday.

Influential defender Nobel Mendy has not recovered in time to be involved, but is expected to return to full training on Monday ahead of Ipswich Town next Saturday.

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That's also the case with goalkeeper Jack Butland, who is returning at least a month ahead of schedule and will be back in training next week, but the prognosis on Charlie Hughes remains unclear. The defender continues to have good days and bad in his recovery from double hernia surgery at the end of last season, and as it stands, his return remains some way off. Matt Targett remains out with his ankle injury.

Striker Ilias Ansah was due to undergo another scan on Friday as he looks to take his next steps in recovery from a back injury, and while the news is positive on him at this stage, his return to full training is still a significant way off.

The Tigers' Under-21s are set to play at Carrington on Monday against Manchester United's counterparts, and the Tigers plan to use that as a chance to give minutes to those players in desperate need of them after Tuesday's training ground clash with Lincoln City was cancelled because of the Imps' injury situation.

It was hoped the likes of Tim Iroegbunam, Morita, and Joe Gelhardt could step up their recoveries from injury with useful extra game-time. As it is, all three could start on Sunday.

"Mendy is missing," Jakirovic said ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash. "He's on the grass, which is good news, and our plan is for him to join us in full training from Monday, so he should be ready for Ipswich.

"He's (Butland) already on the grass. He's doing some warm-ups and the first part of the training session, then he's staying for an individual session. He will join us, I think, from Monday as well.

"Vaz is OK. Nothing happened, thank God everything is good because you fear the worst. I had fear from his reaction because you cannot calm him down. You see on his face that he had fear."

Ansah was signed with a back problem. But it's hoped there is progress being made in his recovery, and if good news comes from his scan, he could get out on the grass next week, which would be a big step forward.

"Today (Friday), he (Ansah) was having a scan, and then after this scan, after an opinion, we will see if maybe he will start to run next week. That is a positive, yes, because he hasn't run since 1st September. He's just in the gym, on the bicycle, just doing what he can do.

"Charlie's (Hughes) on the grass, individual session, some reactions after training. Sometimes it's better, sometimes it's not so good, so he's struggling.

"Darko (Gyabi) is with us; he's training with us. He's not registered at least until the winter (transfer window), and between now and then, we will try to improve his physical condition."

City had scheduled the game with Lincoln in a bid to get some of their summer signings crucial minutes to prepare them for Sunday, but that didn't happen. Conor Sellars' Under-21s face the Red Devils at their training ground on Monday, and depending on what happens against Brentford, some could use that game as another chance to get minutes.

"I'm really sorry because I planned everything around this game, especially for these players who don't have minutes," the Croatian continued. "I must respect this because they have their own problems with injuries, mostly with injuries, so we will try to find a new time for this game. On Monday, we will try to use the Under-21s when they are playing away against Man United's Under-21s. Maybe we will send five or six players there to have minutes. It will be excellent for them, because I don't have any other choice."