PREVIEW: Hull City (A)

Derby County will travel to the MKM Stadium to face Hull City in the Sky Bet Championship on Tuesday night (7.45pm kick-off).

The Rams will enter the game looking to bounce back after a 2-0 reverse away against Watford on Saturday – just the fifth defeat on the road for John Eustace’s side, who boast the third-strongest record in the second tier this season.

Derby will be hoping to complete the double over Hull after Lars-Jørgen Salvesen’s late goal secured a 2-1 win at Pride Park Stadium back in November.

Ticket Information

Derby will be backed by a sold-out away end on Humberside on Tuesday night. The Rams were handed a total allocation of 2,346 tickets for the match, and these have now completely sold out, with no further seats being made available.

Those fans without a ticket are advised not to make the trip to the MKM Stadium, as they will be unable to gain access to the stadium.

Pre-Match Thoughts

John Eustace spoke to RamsTV to ahead of his side's midweek trip to Humberside.

Striker Carlton Morris also caught up with RamsTV to reflect on his recent return from injury and to preview Tuesday night's fixture against Hull.

The Opposition

After a 21st-place finish for Hull City last season, with the Tigers in the thick of the relegation fight on the final day alongside Derby, things looked to have turned around this term on Humberside.

Rubén Sellés left his post as Head Coach following survival at the end of the 2024/25 season, and Bosnian Sergej Jakirović took over in the summer.

The former Dinamo Zagreb man signed a two-year deal at the MKM Stadium and has overseen 16 wins and six draws from 32 games in the Championship – seeing the Tigers in fifth spot and well within the play-off fight as the closing stages of the campaign approach.

The Tigers have been fired into their current high-flying position with 12 goals from Oli McBurnie (joint third in the league’s scoring charts), Joe Gelhardt with 11 goals (joint fourth best in the division) and Kyle Joseph with seven strikes.

Hull enter their clash with the Rams looking to bounce back after a 3-1 loss against Queens Park Rangers on home turf.

Classic Clash

The previous meeting between the two sides, while not the highest-scoring encounter on Humberside, was certainly significant.

The clash, on Saturday 26th April, was the penultimate match of the 2024/25 season, with both sides fighting to retain their Championship status.

In a tightly-contested match-up, neither side could take advantage of opportunities, despite chances for Harrison Armstrong and Kane Wilson for the Rams, while Gustavo Puerta’s free-kick was well saved by Josh Vickers to deny the hosts in the first half.

The same was true of the second period, with chances going amiss for both sides.

However, the deadlock was broken after a spectacular free-kick from Craig Forsyth was met by defender Nat Phillips, who leapt to send a towering header into the back of the net in the 84th minute to seal all three points.

The win kept Derby out of the division's bottom three going into the final round of fixtures, and proved to be the result that completed Head Coach John Eustace’s mission to keep the Rams in the second tier.

Match Officials

Adam Herczeg will officiate the Championship clash. He has overseen 16 second-tier fixtures so far this term, handing out 67 yellow cards and three red cards (one second yellow).

It will be just the third time Herczeg has held the whistle in a Rams match, last taking charge during January 2025's 2-0 loss at home to Watford and previously refereeing a goalless League One draw against Exeter City in October 2022.

The assistant referees in Hull will be Matthew Smith and Mark Dwyer, while the fourth officialdutieswill betaken by Leigh Doughty.

RamsTV Audio & Video Coverage

Live audio commentary for all of Derby County’s first team matches in the 2025/26 season - both league and cup fixtures - is available to RamsTV Audio subscribers based both in the UK and internationally.

Highlights & Match Replay

Full match reaction will be available on dcfc.co.uk and the Derby County App shortly after full time, with highlights and a full match replay available from midnight.