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The next few days could be pivotal for Hull City’s future as they fight to stay in the Championship.
The Championship relegation race has gone down to the wire, and ahead of the final day, five teams are battling to avoid joining Cardiff City and Plymouth Argyle in League One.
Hull head to Portsmouth on Saturday, knowing a win secures their Championship status, while Preston North End, Stoke City, Derby County and Luton Town are all involved in the dramatic battle.
For the Tigers, who were beaten by Derby last weekend, their morale couldn’t be much lower ahead of a massive trip to Fratton Park.
Ruben Selles and his squad received their April payment later than usual due to an overseas issue, while midfielder Steven Alzate has been linked with an exit from the MKM Stadium.
Of course, those are far from ideal preparations ahead of their relegation showdown this weekend, and one particular EFL announcement wouldn’t leave City best pleased.
John Busby will referee Portsmouth vs Hull City
The equation for Hull is simple this weekend. Win, and they remain in the second tier as relegation-threatened Derby and Stoke face off.
However, Selles’ men can avoid relegation with a point as long as Preston or Luton lose their fixture against Bristol City and West Brom respectively.
David Prutton has urged Hull to go ‘super attacking’ against Portsmouth after scoring just once from open play in their last seven matches.
Meanwhile, ahead of the clash on the South Coast, John Busby has been named as the referee with Sam Mulhall as his fourth official.
Hull have won six of their 11 matches that have been officiated Busby, which should spark some optimism, although one error he once made against the Tigers was unforgettable.
Busby made glaring error in Nottingham Forest vs Hull City in 2021
In December 2021, Hull faced off against Nottingham Forest in the Championship.
The travelling contingent were sent into dreamland when Keane Lewis-Potter’s wonderful strike put them into the lead.
But, Forest were given a free ticket back into the contest when Busby awarded the hosts a penalty. George Honeyman and Alex Mighten clashed inside the box, with the City man winning the ball before the Forest youngster kicked his boot.
Lewis Grabban converted the resulting spot kick, and then, frustratingly, Brennan Johnson grabbed a winner in the second half to turn the game on its head.
Grant McCann was understandably left aggrieved as his side were extremely hard done by, and those frustrations resulted in a formal apology from the EFL’s head of refereeing Mike Jones.
Busby’s error cost City on that day, and fans will hope he doesn’t make another mistake when the Tigers need him most this weekend.