Hull City are just 48 hours away from competing in the most profitable game in world football for the first time in ten years, after defying the odds to reach the Championship play-off final.

Outsiders have rated the Tigers unfavorably for the majority of the season, despite spending 24 consecutive games in the second tier’s play-off places between January and April, before returning to sixth on the final day and defeating Millwall over two legs in the play-off semi-finals.

However, the 2-0 triumph over Alex Neil’s team at The Den on Monday, May 11th, feels like a lifetime ago for many City fans, given the off-field drama that has gone beyond seismic, involving Saturday’s opponents and Southampton as a result of the well-documented spygate affair.

Indeed, Kim Hellberg’s team has been reinstated into the 40th edition of the post-season promotion lottery after a league arbitration panel upheld the Saints’ appeal against their expulsion from the play-offs and an upcoming four-point deduction for the 2026/27 season after admitting to multiple breaches of unauthorised filming of training sessions within 72 hours of kick-off.

Before the game, Jakirovic and City owner Acun Ilicali both spoke about how the catastrophe had hampered their pre-game preparations, and there have been speculations that the East Yorkshire club may consider a legal challenge following the final whistle in North London.

However, the task at hand is relatively straightforward. If they defeat Middlesbrough for the second time this season, they would return to the top division for the first time since 2017, and some encouraging news has surfaced from the Bosnian’s pre-match press conference.

Hull City accepted an EFL request regarding David Akintola prior of the Middlesbrough play-off final.

Although the initial report surfaced while City were preparing to face Southampton, who had already won the Championship double, it was revealed that the club had submitted a request to the EFL to re-register Nigerian winger David Akintola to their official 25-man squad in place of Belgian midfielder Eliot Matazo.

Matazo’s tenure in HU3 has been fraught with disaster, and after missing 14 months of league action due to an ACL injury, the 24-year-old suffered the same ailment to his right knee in last month’s 2-1 loss at Charlton Athletic.

Akintola, meanwhile, has been powerless to influence City’s on-field fortunes since January, when he was de-registered to make way for the club’s winter recruits, only to have his re-registration request denied in March following an initial injury to Bristol City loanee Yu Hirakawa.

However, this time, the 30-year-old’s appeal to be included in the team against Boro has been accepted. It is reported to be acknowledgment for his commitment to Hull’s promotion campaign during a period when he was unable to add to his 21 appearances and one goal, which came against Sheffield United on October 4th.

David Akintola has become as a cult figure among Hull City supporters, despite fewer minutes.

Despite a diminished influence in his first season as a Tigers player, Akintola’s charisma has made him a fan favorite on social media.

As part of the club’s end-of-season awards ceremony, the attacker was named Community Award winner, highlighting his dedication to engaging with people who stand on the terraces every week.

It remains to be seen whether Akintola will play any role on the pitch at the national stadium, even if his addition to the squad somewhat compensates for the fact that versatile eight-goal forward Kyle Joseph will be absent after suffering a serious ankle injury in the second leg of the semi-finals against Millwall, which could result in a 10-week recovery period.