The Tigers along with Millwall have been the surprise packages this season
City were 3-1 winners at The Den before Christmas(Image: James Fearn/Getty Images)
Hull City will go into this season’s Championship play-offs as the outsider after clinching a top-six berth on a dramatic final day of what’s been another captivating season.
City‘s 2-1 win over Norwich City, courtesy of Oli McBurnie’s brace, was enough to see the Tigers leapfrog Wrexham into sixth after their 2-2 draw with Middlesbrough.
Sergej Jakirovic’s Tigers host Millwall in the first leg on Friday night, before heading to The Den on Monday for the second leg with a place in the Wembley final at stake.
Boro face Southampton in the other semi-final, with the first leg at The Riverside on Saturday lunchtime, and the return at St Mary’s on Tuesday.
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Few would argue that the Saints are the form team going into the play-offs with eight wins and two draws in their last 10 league outings. In fact, their last league defeat came when City were 2-1 winners on the South Coast back in February.
Millwall are the best of the rest, with five wins, two defeats and three draws in their final 10. Then comes City, who notched a first win in seven against the Canaries. Jakirovic’s side mustered three wins, three defeats and four draws in their final 10.
Propping up the rest were Boro, who managed two wins in their final 10, but those two did come in their final three games. There were three defeats and four draws in that run.
There are those who say form goes out of the window when it comes to the play-offs. There are also those who say the team that sneaks in at the last minute have the advantage over those who have been chasing automatic promotion, and those who have missed out. That was certainly the case with Millwall, Southampton and Boro.
But what of their form against each other?
Well, City claimed 12 points with wins at Boro and Millwall, as well as doing the double over Southampton. Next up were Boro and Millwall, with both picking up 10 points. The in-form Saints mustered just two points, with draws at home to Boro and the Lions.
What does it mean? Possibly nothing in the grand scheme of things, but it should give confidence to City going to Millwall on Friday night. Should they come through two tough ties against Alex Neil’s Lions, then they’ll know they can also do the business against either Southampton or Boro.
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