While there can be no denying Sunderland v Leicester will be a real relegation dogfight, there will also be a nagging voice in the back of both managers’ minds reminding them that the result may well be academic if Hull don’t manage to get their act together against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

As things stand, if none of the at-risk teams pick up any points between now and the end of the season, it will be the Tigers who go down on 34 points anyway – and given that Steve Bruce’s side travel to White Hart Lane this weekend and welcome Manchester United to the KC Stadium on the final day of the season, there can be no guarantee they’ll add to their tally before the month is out.

Indeed, despite rekindling their survival bid with good wins over Crystal Palace and Liverpool, back-to-back defeats to Arsenal and Burnley have put Hull right back in the mire – and their only saving grace going into two incredibly tough games is that Spurs seem to have really taken their foot off the gas since a top four finish became an impossibility and United may have nothing left to play for.

Remarkably, the visitors are actually in marginally better form than the hosts going into this clash, but that hasn’t stopped the bookmakers from naming Mauricio Pochettino’s men as 4/5 favourites with Hull as far out as 4/1 in some places despite being absolutely desperate to pick up some points.

At such long odds against, it therefore looks a very tempting proposition to back the Tigers – who actually won their last game away from the KC Stadium 2-0 – here; especially given Spurs have lost their last two home games 1-0. A repeat scoreline on Saturday is on offer at 16/1, while backing Hull striker, Dame N’Doye to score the only goal of the game in such a result comes in at a massive 60/1.

For Tottenham, meanwhile, the goals have seemingly dried up, with back-to-back blanks against Manchester City and Stoke meaning Harry Kane’s odds have been boosted to 4/1 for this game. Having now gone three games without finding the net, the price looks to be just about right, but it is worth remembering that among the teams in the bottom half of the table, only Everton and West Brom have conceded fewer than Hull’s 49 against – to put that into context, Spurs have let in 53.

Perhaps, then, Hull to keep a clean sheet is potentially a more lucrative option than backing the Tigers to win here at odds of 5/1, while a 0-0 draw – a result that would ensure their battle for Premier League survival goes on until the final day of the season – is available at 12/1. Whatever way you look at it, however, with Spurs struggling in the final third and Hull scrapping for points, the game featuring under 2.5 goals seems pretty much a banker here at odds-against prices of 21/20.