City make date with Sunderland
HULL City will face play-off rivals Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, as the two League
One giants hastily rearrange
Boxing Day’s cancelled fixture.
The Black Cats postponed the Christmas clash because of an outbreak of coronavirus at the Academy of Light, the club’s Wearside training base, while City were forced to postpone a game with Lincoln City on December 29 following a spate of cases.
City were originally scheduled to be playing in front of the television cameras at Wigan Athletic this weekend, but the Latics have since reported an outbreak which saw games against AFC Wimbledon and City shelved, so the Tigers and Lee Johnson’s Sunderland have moved quickly to take advantage of the free weekend.
The two clubs were in discussions over the weekend following the Wigan announcement, but it’s understood they were awaiting results from their respective coronavirus testing before committing to the game, while also being in discussions with Sky over broadcast of the fixture.
With the football calendar facing unprecedented pressure because of the pandemic, clubs face a race against time to rearrange cancelled fixtures.
Across the festive period, 40 games were lost in the EFL due to Covid-related issues ahead of mandatory testing which was introduced from Monday.
Saturday night’s fixture will kick-off at 7.45pm and be broadcast live on Sky Sports coming on the back of Ipswich vs Swindon at Portman Road.
The news comes on the back of games against Accrington and Lincoln City at the KCOM Stadium being rearranged, while the kick-off time for Tuesday’s Papa John’s Trophy clash with Fleetwood has been brought forward to 5.30pm.
It’ll be the second time this season the pair have met at the Stadium of Light, with City prevailing in the Carabao Cup on the penalties after a 0-0 draw in the first game of the season.