Tigers fans are set for a thrilling end to the Championship season
Barry Cooper Hull City correspondent
12:15, 31 Mar 2026Updated 12:25, 31 Mar 2026
Sergej Jakirovic has been a big hit at the MKM Stadium this term
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Sergej Jakirovic has been a big hit at the MKM Stadium this term(Image: Martin Rickett/PA Wire)
Hull City are enjoying their best season since winning promotion through the play-offs under Steve Bruce, when Mo Diame scored the winner at Wembley against Sheffield Wednesday.
Sergej Jakirovic's Tigers are fifth in the league, five points off the automatic promotion places and three clear of seventh, with just seven games left.
When Championship football resumes on Good Friday, City will go to struggling Oxford United looking for an 11th away win, before hosting leaders Coventry City on Easter Monday.
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City's form this season is in stark contrast to what fans were put through 12 months ago. After Tim Walter's ill-fated regime ended with a home defeat to Wednesday in November, Ruben Selles came in and eventually managed to keep the Tigers in the Championship with that final-day escape at Portsmouth, before leaving at the end of the campaign.
At this stage last season, City went into the international break on the back of a calamitous home defeat to fellow strugglers Luton Town, courtesy of Alfie Jones' freak own goal at the start of the second half. It left City teetering on the edge of the drop zone with 10 wins from their 39 games and just 41 points.
City would amass nine more points in the final seven games and stage that final day survival thanks to the 1-1 draw at Portsmouth, coupled with Luton's hammering at West Brom.
How the bottom of the table looked last season
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How the bottom of the table looked last season (Image: https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/)
Two years ago, under Liam Rosenior, City were seventh with 17 wins from their 39 games. Their 61 points had them sitting three points outside the top six.
In those remaining seven games, a City side containing the likes of Jacob Greaves, Jean Michael Seri, Jaden Philogene, Liam Delap and Fabio Carvalho were unable to chase down Norwich City and West Brom, and they ultimately fell short.
The 2023/24 table after 39 games
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The 2023/24 table after 39 games(Image: https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/)
Twenty-four months on, the Tigers are five points and two places better off than Rosenior's team. What happens in the next five weeks will be fascinating to see.
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