A Premier League tale of two Cities – but will it be Hull or Bristol?

Both Phil Brown and Gary Johnson have done tremendously well to steer their respective clubs to within touching distance of the top flight this season. But which club will get over the finishing line at Wembley and start preparing for daunting, yet exciting, trips to Old Trafford, Anfield and Stamford Bridge next season?

These games don't have too much bearing on whether you stay in the Premier League for longer than a season. The winners on May 24 will be more focused on collecting points against the likes of West Brom, Stoke City, Fulham, Bolton plus any other club who find themselves floundering at the wrong end of the table by Christmas.

There hasn’t been much between the Tigers and Robins this season. They finished in third and fourth position respectively, Hull ending up a point better off then their opponents, who somehow managed a goal difference of just +1 over the 46 matches, despite winning eight more matches than they lost. Nevertheless, it’s Bristol who have the upper hand on the head-to-head record, beating their rivals 2-1 at Ashton Gate in March after drawing 0-0 at the KC Stadium in November.

It’s clear that either team will face an almighty struggle if they are to maintain Premier League status for more than one season. While both clubs have a large catchment area to call on and a vociferous home support, they are also at a disadvantage in that every other club (including the two automatically promoted sides) has already started the planning process for next year. How can Brown or Johnson start negotiations with potential new signings when they can’t guarantee which division they’ll be operating in?

That was certainly one of the main factors why Derby County had such a torrid season, although it doesn’t help when the manager falls out with the board at an early stage, either. It appears that both managers have the full backing of their boards, especially Johnson, who waxes lyrical about a shared vision with chairman Stephen Lansdown that’s on the verge of coming true for the red half of Bristol.

Victory for the Robins will also mean an unprecedented back-to-back promotion from League One to the Premier League, although Hull’s recent success has been no less meteoric. Indeed, if the Tigers are promoted, they will have a quartet in their squad who will have featured for the club in all four league divisions. That’s despite chairman Keith Duffen not knowing the precise whereabouts of Kingston-upon-Hull when he took over at the club 16 months ago!

It’s going to be heartbreak for one of these clubs and ecstasy for the other. However, in the case of Derby and West Brom last year, it's the Rams who will be plying their trade in the Championship next term, while the Baggies are Premier League-bound and arguably stronger for an extra season spent in the second tier.