City's big game with the Blues will be shown in front of the nation next month
Barry Cooper Hull City correspondent
17:00, 16 Jan 2026
City host the Premier League outfit over Valentine's Day weekend
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City host the Premier League outfit over Valentine's Day weekend (Image: George Wood/Getty Images)
Hull City’s eagerly anticipated reunion with former head coach Liam Rosenior will have the unusual honour of being broadcast live by more than one channel. The promotion-chasing Tigers host Chelsea yet again in the FA Cup next month at the MKM Stadium, and it’ll be played in front of the nation on both terrestrial and satellite television. BBC One, TNT Sports 1 and Discovery+ have taken the game, which will kick off at 7:45pm on Friday, February 13 and start a busy weekend for groundstaff at the MKM Stadium, with Hull FC kicking off their Super League campaign the following day against Bradford Bulls. City are no strangers to the Blues in the world’s oldest cup competition, with the pair meeting in the 2019/20 campaign when the Tigers last made it through to the fourth round, before going down to a 2-1 home defeat. This will be the 12th time they’ve met in what will be the Tigers’ 151st home game in the competition. Head coach Sergej Jakirovic guided the Tigers through a third-round tie against Blackburn Rovers last weekend, with David Akintola netting the winning spot-kick in a penalty shootout. Chelsea, in Rosenior’s first game as Blues boss, romped to a 5-1 win at Charlton Athletic before losing 3-2 at home to Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final.
The contest comes just three days after the Blues host Leeds United at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League, amid what is a busy period of eight games for Rosenior before his return to East Yorkshire. It could become busier if they do not qualify for the Champions League next stage automatically. Chelsea are 13th, and should they miss out on the top eight, the first leg of their play-off would be the following midweek.
City, meanwhile, have six games starting with a trip to Southampton on Saturday, and ending with a home meeting with Bristol City, in what will be a run of five successive home outings. Rosenior spent 18 months as City boss between November 2022 and May 2024, losing his job after his side missed out on the Championship’s top six.
Ticket details for the clash will be announced in due course, with the visitors expected to be granted around 3,500 tickets in the North Stand.
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