City are in action at the MKM Stadium for the final time in the 2025/26 campaign
Hull City are looking ahead to Friday night’s play-off semi-final first leg(Image: Ian Hodgson/PA Wire)
Hull City will head into Friday night’s play-off semi-final first leg against Millwall with no fresh injury concerns, which is a timely boost to Sergej Jakirovic.
The City boss had bemoaned losing a player a game, but aside from the existing absentees, there are no new worries.
That means Jakirovic must decide whether to keep faith with the same starting XI that started last Saturday’s dramatic 2-1 win over Norwich City, which secured the Tigers’ play-off place, or make changes.
Jakirovic made three changes coming into the game with Charlie Hughes, Regan Slater and Mo Belloumi all coming into the team, at the expense of Semi Ajayi, John Lundstram and the stricken Eliot Matazo.
JOIN US ON FACEBOOK! Latest Hull City news and analysis on our Hull Live FB page
Hughes came in for Ajayi, with Slater making his return from injury in the place of Lundstram, while Belloumi effectively replaced Matazo, which saw Matt Crooks drop back into midfield, Joe Gelhardt went into the number 10 role and Belloumi out wide.
It would perhaps be a surprise to see too many changes to that starting line-up, but with the second leg coming up on Monday night, Jakirovic could opt to rest Belloumi, move Gelhardt wide and push Crooks further forward and bring back Lundstram to play alongside Slater.
Belloumi is still feeling his way back to fitness and played an hour last weekend, but with that second leg looming large, and how dominant he was at The Den in December, Jakirovic may opt to keep the Algerian fresh for that.
Elsewhere, it’s hard to imagine him changing anything in the back five, given how assured Hughes and John Egan were against Norwich.
City’s predicted XI: Pandur, Giles, Hughes, Egan, Coyle (c), Slater, Lundstram, Crooks, Millar, Gelhardt, McBurnie.
Pick your starting XI using the slider below…
Here at Hull Live , we are dedicated to bringing you the best Hull City coverage and analysis. Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group.
You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.