Hull City fans may be lost for words at what the EFL have announced for Derby County clash

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A huge relegation showdown is set to take centre stage at the MKM Stadium as Hull City host Derby County on Saturday.

Hull and Derby are involved in a frantic Championship relegation battle, and with just two matches remaining, it’s difficult to predict which three teams will slip through the trap door.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
18	PrestonPreston	44	10	19	15	45	55	-10	49
19	Oxford UnitedOxford United	44	12	13	19	44	62	-18	49
20	Hull CityHull City	44	12	12	20	43	52	-9	48
21	DerbyDerby	44	12	10	22	47	56	-9	46
22	LutonLuton	44	12	10	22	41	64	-23	46

Last time out, Hull’s 2-1 win over Preston North End kept them outside the bottom three by just two points as four of the bottom five teams all won.

It’s why the Championship is the best league in the world, as the division serves up some unpredictable drama right till the very last.

Ahead of the massive six-pointer, Ruben Selles has issued a rallying cry to his Hull players and the officials for the match have also been named.

• READ MORE: Hull City boss Ruben Selles gives honest thoughts on John Eustace’s ‘difficult’ Derby County spell

Stephen Martin will referee Hull City vs Derby County

Hull fans will hope that a disastrous campaign will at least have a happy ending by securing survival in the second tier.

Worryingly, the Tigers have the worst home record in the division, winning just five of their 22 matches at the MKM Stadium.

A victory over Preston on Monday would have boosted their confidence levels heading into this contest, with the EFL announcing that Stephen Martin will referee Hull against Derby.

Martin has officiated 18 matches involving the East Yorkshire side, who have registered five wins, five draws and eight defeats during his watchful eye.

Supporters may be wondering why the experienced referee being chosen for the fixture has any meaning, and that is because during his first time taking charge of a Hull match, he made a mistake that nearly cost them dearly.

• READ MORE: Aaron Ramsey reveals Cardiff City dressing room ‘spirit’ amid battle against relegation ahead of West Brom clash

Steve Bruce was once left seething by Martin in 2016

In the 2015/16 campaign, Hull were gunning for promotion under Steve Bruce, and something controversial happened when they faced off against Birmingham City in March 2016.

The Tigers had a chance to go top of the Championship before Middlesbrough and Burnley were in action, but unfortunately, Jon Toral’s deflected first-half goal condemned them to a loss.

Knowing how big this was in the context of their season, Bruce was angry at official Martin for not awarding a penalty after Paul Robinson apparently handled Abel Hernandez’s shot in the box.

“It’s a stonewall penalty, you need the referee to do his job and for both teams he didn’t do his job all night,” Bruce said during his post-match assessment. “He knew what he was doing, Robbo, trying to put something in the way and when you see it again, it’s a stonewall penalty.”

A chance to score from the penalty spot could have changed the complexion of the match, and perhaps placed Hull in the asendancy to win all three points.

However, this error from Martin ended up costing Bruce’s men on the night and come the end of the season as they were made to settle for fourth place.

Luckily, the Tigers did go on to prevail in the Championship play-off final as Mohamed Diame’s thunderous strike saw off Sheffield Wednesday.