The Tigers launch their first play-off campaign in a decade on Friday night
Hull City and Millwall both enjoyed 3-1 wins at each other’s home ground this season as attention turns to the semi-final (Image: Richard Sellers/PA Wire)
The Championship play-offs get underway on Friday night with Hull City hosting Millwall at a sold-out MKM Stadium in the first leg of what promises to be a mouthwatering semi-final.
City snatched sixth place on a pulsating final day last Saturday thanks to a 2-1 home victory over Norwich City, while Millwall’s comfortable 2-0 home win over already relegated Oxford United wasn’t enough to clinch automatic promotion, with Ipswich Town seeing off QPR, but they still managed to finish third with an impressive 83 points, 10 clear of the Tigers.
Both sides, perhaps unfancied at the start of the season, have enjoyed remarkable campaigns, whatever happens between now and the end of the play-off final at Wembley on May 23.
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Backed to be in a relegation fight at the start of the season, City have continued to surprise many even until the last moments of the final afternoon.
Going into the play-offs, City remain the rank outsiders and that includes the pundits. Former Sheffield Wednesday defender and Sky Sports summariser, Andy Hinchcliffe, accepts the Tigers have threats, though he expects Alex Neil’s men to prevail, and those thoughts are echoed by ex-Wolves frontman, Don Goodman with both predicting the two legs to be unpredictable.
LISTEN: Sergej Jakirovic and Kyle Joseph preview the play-off semi-final
Here’s what they’ve been saying…
Andy Hinchcliffe
“For Millwall to finish third is pretty incredible. To be as consistent as they have in this league is extraordinary. Hull have overachieved. Their underlying stats tell you they should be down in the bottom five or six. But they are challenging for promotion.
“Millwall being at home in the second leg is an advantage. They go into the tie in better form, but Hull have the ability to win games you don’t expect them to win. That’s why they are here.
“Millwall are set up to be defensively solid. They’re not going to give much away, but they do have individuals. Hull have more individuals that can change the course of the game. They don’t necessarily have to play well to win games.
“Millwall might be the better unit, but Hull have players that can hurt you. There are Hull players that can score goals in different ways. Lots of width, different threats. Millwall will be wary of that.
“With Hull’s unpredictability, I wouldn’t be surprised if they got through. But over the course of two games, Millwall should have enough to make it to Wembley.”
Don Goodman
“The gap isn’t as big as usual in terms of points, but also in terms of what these two teams are capable of when they are operating close to their best.
“Hull can score goals against anybody, they have a wonderful blend in attack with the players they have, and they will craft out chances. It is sixth versus third, but I don’t think we’ve got a predictable tie.
“But flip it on its head and they also concede a lot of chances and a lot of goals. That could be the differential between these two over two legs. Millwall are just a much more solid outfit without the ball.
“I think Millwall are going to be a force in these play-offs. I would just about back them to come through this tie, but I don’t anticipate that it’s going to be straightforward.”
Goodman and Hinchcliffe were speaking on Sky Sports’ Essential EFL Podcast, and you can listen to the full episode here
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