CITY ARE HEADING FOR BUMPER MKM CROWD

SATURDAY’S final day showdown against Nottingham Forest at the MKM Stadium will see Hull City’s biggest league attendance in more than five years, since the Tigers’ last Premier League outing against Tottenham Hotspur at the end of the 2016/17 campaign when 23,804 saw City beaten by Spurs in what will be a welcome boost to the club’s coffers.

Such has been the demand to watch the 12.30pm kick-off against Steve Cooper’s Reds, more than 17,000 tickets have already been sold and with four days to go before the day of the game, club officials expect the attendance to surpass 18,000 for the first time since Derby County were the visitors on Boxing Day in 2017.

Depending on the outcome of Forest’s trip to Bournemouth last night, the City Ground club could have a chance to seal automatic promotion on Saturday and demand from away fans has been through the roof.

City, after discussions with the police, have granted Forest another 353 tickets to take their overall allocation to just over 3,700 which went on sale early on Tuesday morning - they were expected to sell-out almost immediately.

That allocation cannot be increased any further, owing to the ground layout and tickets already sold to home supporters on either side of the away fans in the North Stand, while there will be around 1,500 home supporters occupying the West Stand upper tier for just the third time this season.

Numerous Forest supporters have attempted to buy tickets in home areas of the MKM Stadium and with both clubs working closely together, they’ve had their tickets cancelled and refunds issued, but City say if any fans are found in home areas on Saturday they will be ejected from the stadium without refunds.

City will be looking to respond to Saturday’s 5-0 hammering at Bristol City and end their campaign on a high in front of their own supporters, while a win for Forest at Bournemouth last night would see the Reds occupy second place in the league on the final day, and on the cusp of ending their 23-year wait for Premier League football.

If Forest avoid defeat at Dean Court, it’s expected City’s game with the Reds will be selected for live television coverage by Sky Sports, bringing in further welcome income to Acun Ilicali ahead of his summer rebuilding plans.