Hull City welcome Millwall to the MKM Stadium as the pair face off in the first leg of their Championship playoff semifinal on Friday – with promotion to the Premier League on the line.
Millwall narrowly missed out on automatic promotion on the final day of the season, as they finished a point behind Ipswich Town despite earning a 2-0 win over Oxford United. However, Alex Neil’s side can consider themselves the most in-form of all four sides in the playoffs, unbeaten in their last five games and only losing two of their last thirteen.
Sergej Jakirovic’s Hull City side, meanwhile, spent most of the season in the playoff spots, but a run of six games without a win going into the final day left them in a precarious position, competing with Wrexham for the final spot. A comeback 2-1 win over Norwich City saw Hull finish sixth as Wrexham drew 2-2 to Middlesbrough.
Interestingly, both teams defeated each other by a 3-1 scoreline away from home this season, although Millwall’s win in March was their first at the MKM Stadium since 2020.
Here’s everything you need to know about Friday’s game.
How to watch:
The match will be shown on Sky Sports in the UK, CBS / Paramount+ in the U.S., FanCode in India and beIN Sports in Australia. You can also follow ESPN’s live updates.
Key Details:
Kick-off time: Friday, May 8 at 8 p.m. GMT (3 p.m. ET; 12:30 a.m. IST, Saturday and 5 a.m. AEST, Saturday).
Venue: MKM Stadium, Hull.
Referee: Gavin Ward
Injury and Team News:
Hull City
Eliot Matazo, M: ACL, OUT
Cody Drameh, D: muscle, OUT
Millwall
Caleb Taylor, D: discomfort, DOUBT
Josh Coburn, F: discomfort, DOUBT
Joe Bryan, D: muscle, DOUBT
Daniel Kelly, M: hamstring, DOUBT
Benicio Baker-Boaitey, M: groin, OUT
Massimo Luongo, M: ACL, OUT
Lukas Jensen, GK: achilles, OUT
Talking Points:
Hull have to defy the odds to get promoted
Hull City did brilliantly to pull off their last-day entry into the playoffs, but the cold reality is that no team that has finished sixth has achieved promotion since Blackpool 16 years ago.
The stats don’t make pretty reading for Jakirovic’s side, who boast of the worst expected goals conceded (80.1) barring bottom of the table and League One-bound Sheffield Wednesday. Hull also cede possession (19th in Championship possession stats) and make fewer accurate passes than most teams (19th) in the division.
Yet, in the likes of Oli McBurnie they have the division’s second-highest goalscorer, and that could prove crucial in the two-legged playoff semifinal. Jakirovic will be hoping for a return to the form that saw them spend much of the season in the top six, and the character that saw them beat out Wrexham to the playoffs.
Their playoff record is one of the best in the division, and a return to the Premier League, however improbable, is quite possible. It is quite the feat after the two-window transfer fee embargo imposed by the EFL on the club, leaving them resorting to loans and signing free agents.
Milwall ought to count on excellent away record
In contrast to their opponents, Alex Neil’s side are in excellent form coming into this tie. While Millwall would naturally have been disappointed with losing out on automatic promotion by a point, they put together an excellent run of form towards the end of the season to finish third.
They boast of the best away record in the division, with the most points (41) and the least goals conceded (24). Neil’s side can count on their defence to take them through the two-legged contest against Hull, with Millwall boasting of a league high 18 clean sheets.
Femi Azeez is crucial to the side’s fortunes, and with Neil having rested his star players in the second half of their final day win over Oxford, Millwall can boast of a fresher starting XI than their opponents. However, Millwall have lost out on the cumulative xG battle against Hull this season in the games between the two teams (2.2 xG vs 5.07 xG), and might have to rely on their defence bailing them out away from home.
What do the numbers say?
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Millwall have never defeated Hull in consecutive games since 2011.
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Hull have a 100% record of promotion from the Championship playoffs, (2/2) with West Ham United the only other team to do so.
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Oliver McBurnie is two goals shy of becoming the first Hull player to score 20 goals in a season since 2021.
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Femi Azeez (5G, 6A) is one of only two players in the Championship to have both scored and assisted five or more goals.
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Hull have lost just one of their last five home games against Milwall (in March this season).
