Doncaster Rovers manager Darren Moore on derby trip to Hull City

An intriguing encounter between two of the best footballing sides in League One sees Moore pit his wits against former Rovers boss Grant McCann, who he replaced following his decision to head to the KCOM Stadium in the summer of 2019.

Unfortunately, seeing a small percentage of fans in stadiums in most grounds in the north and Midlands is still off the agenda, with the majority of the clubs in those areas having been placed in the Tier 3 region, which means that spectators are still not permitted to attend matches.

It is a different story for those in Tier 2 who are predominantly in the south of England. In those areas, up to 2,000 supporters will be able to watch games this weekend with a tiered system back in operation following the end of the second national lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Moore said: "For the type of game it is and the location of both football clubs, it is (sad). But hopefully, it will spur us all on to continue what we are doing and it will not be long before we see the fans back in the ground.

"This is probably the most crucial bit as we know some clubs will be hosting fans over the weekend.

"It is welcome that we will be witnessing football matches where there will be fans in the ground and an atmosphere, so I am hoping that will spur everyone on in the other regions to continue doing what we have been doing.

"I am sure if everyone does their bit, all 92 league clubs and those in the non-league will start seeing fans coming back in some capacity and what a welcome that would be for us all."

Moore expects Hull to make a raft of chances for Wednesday's clash following their FA Cup exit at Stevenage on Sunday.

Moore, who revealed that injured loanee Rayhaan Tulloch is back training at parent club West Brom, with Jon Taylor remaining a doubt for the Tigers' test, added: "They have got a real strong side and we are expecting 11 changes from the team who played the Cup match at the weekend and it shows the strength in depth which they have got, which is great.

"But again, it is no different to the squad we expected to come up against.

"For me, it is the biggest test. But why? Because it is the next game. We could have been playing anybody in the division as our approach is always the same in terms of the detail we go about it.

"It is the biggest game because it is the next one irrespective of where the team is at the moment."