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Hull City will take on Millwall in the first leg of their Championship playoff semi-final on Friday night, with both teams desperate for a place in the final at Wembley.
Although Millwall finished three places and ten points higher than Hull City in the Championship this season, the Tigers will come into this one on a high after sneaking into the playoffs on the final day of the season, while Millwall may feel slightly deflated after missing out on automatic promotion by just one point.
Read our prediction, preview and betting tips for the game below, and make sure to check out our Today's betting tips page for more of our free expert Championship predictions.
Contents
Hull City vs Millwall key stats
- Hull City have won just one of their last seven Championship matches.
- Millwall have won three of their last four Championship matches.
- Both teams scored in both H2H matches earlier this season.
Hull City vs Millwall preview: Visitors to inch closer to Wembley
| Hull City | vs | Millwall |
|---|---|---|
| 6th | Position | 3rd |
| 73 | Points | 83 |
| 70 | Goals For | 64 |
| 66 | Goals Against | 49 |
| 11 | Clean Sheets | 18 |
| 8th | Home Rank | 6th |
| 6th | Away Rank | 1st |
After leapfrogging Wrexham into sixth position on the final weekend of the season, there will be a sense of relief in the Hull City camp after they endured a ropey end to the season, which saw the Tigers pick up just seven points from the last 21 available.
Regardless of that, they are now in the playoffs and are just three good performances away from a return to the Premier League. Sergej Jakirovic deserves immense credit for putting the club in this position, as they were expected to be involved in the relegation battle before a ball was kicked.
One area that will concern Jakirovic and the Hull City faithful ahead of the playoffs is their defence. No side in the top half of the Championship conceded more goals than Hull City this season, and they kept just one clean sheet across their final 12 matches of the campaign.
Realistically, it's too late to change that now, so the Tigers may have to toe-to-toe with Millwall across the two legs and hope they can outscore the Lions.
For the first leg, Jakirovic could be without John Egan, who was forced off with an injury against Norwich. Meanwhile, Eliot Matazo, Amir Hadziahmetovic and Cody Drameh have all been officially ruled out.
As for Millwall, the fact that they finished so close to automatic promotion could either fuel them to win the playoffs or see them crumble due to the expectation now placed on their shoulders.
Finishing third is not usually an indicator of success in the playoffs. Three of the last four winners have finished fourth in the Championship, which is a good omen for Southampton, who are also the team in the best form out of the four contenders.
The Lions are not exactly in bad nick themselves, though. They haven't lost on the road since January, and that was to the champions Coventry City, while no side in the division has picked up more away points than them all season.
Like Hull, Millwall were also backed to be in the lower half of the Championship before a ball was kicked, so Alex Neil also deserves his flowers for the job he has done at the New Den.
For the first leg on Friday night, Neil's only injury concern is Josh Coburn, but the forward has not yet been officially ruled out.
Hull City vs Millwall form guide & betting tips
| Hull City | vs | Millwall |
|---|---|---|
| L-D-D-L-W | League Form | D-W-W-D-W |
| 5 | Points | 11 |
| 18th | Form Table | 2nd |
| 7 | Goals For | 8 |
| 8 | Goals Against | 2 |
| D-L-W | Form (all comps) | W-D-W |
Whispers predicts: Everton 1-2 Man City
It's difficult to ignore Millwall's excellent away form this season, and when you combine that with how poorly Hull have played since April, there is only one conclusion to draw. Millwall to win the match has been best priced at 27/20.
A total of eight goals were scored across the two matches Hull City and Millwall played against each other earlier this season. Both teams to score has been priced at 4/5.
Femi Azeez has scored three goals in his last three Championship appearances for Millwall. Azeez is priced at 13/5 to score anytime on Saturday.
> Millwall to win at 27/20 | Likelihood: Probable
> BTTS at 4/5 | Likelihood: Probable
> Femi Azeez to score anytime at 13/5 | Likelihood: Possible