And they went a step further today when Superintendent Patrick Geenty presented his case for closing pubs to the city's magistrates. The police also want all off-licenses near The Kingston Communications Stadium not to sell alcohol until 8pm.
But Hull and District Licensed Victuallers Association's Phillip Asquith said: "If the police have information there's going to be a riot in the city, why is this game going ahead?
"Why aren't the police going to Hull City and saying 'stop the game'? It is not as though this is a big cup match or an important league game."
Around 400 police officers will be on duty and Supt Geenty said: "We have a considerable amount of intelligence that the criminal elements intend to disrupt the game."
But he added: "I'm confident the arrangements we have in place, including the closure of licensed premises, will ensure the game will go ahead peacefully."
Hull are hoping to attract a near capacity 25,000 crowd to Friday night's game.