Hull City
- Hull finished 6th with 73 points, scoring 70 goals and conceding 66.
- The Tigers play a fast and direct 4-2-3-1 system that allows Joe Gelhardt to supply Oli McBurnie with plenty of service and allows McBurnie to dominate the air space.
Millwall
- Millwall finished 3rd on 83 points and had the best away record in the Championship.
- The Lions’ 4-2-3-1 setup is much more compact and physical than Hull’s and will focus on winning aerial duels and sitting deep, suffocating their opponents.
- They have been very good in the air and from set pieces this season, with Femi Azeez leading the team in goals and assists and captain Jake Cooper being their main weapon from set-piece situations at both ends of the field.
Head-to-Head
Hull City and Millwall are well acquainted with each other after 26 previous encounters in all competitions, with the Tigers holding a slight advantage over their London rivals with ten wins to Millwall’s eight and eight draws .
Key Players
- Oli McBurnie is the fulcrum for Hull and can dominate in the air, as he did in his brace to secure their play-off place on the regular-season’s final day.
- Mihailo Ivanović will provide an entirely different threat to the game, while Gelhardt is Hull’s playmaker.
- The selection of Ivor Pandur in goal could be crucial for Hull, given their leaky defense.
- They have been very good in the air and from set pieces this season, with Femi Azeez leading the team in goals and assists and captain Jake Cooper being their main weapon from set-piece situations at both ends of the field.
Betting Insights
- Millwall are in excellent form, unbeaten in five games with three wins, multiple clean sheets and a 2-0 victory on the final day of the regular season.
- Under 2.5 goals is a slight favourite at 1.77, and that seems like a good wager for a cagey, physical and scrappy first leg with a place in the Wembley final and a place in the Premier League up for grabs.
- The home advantage and Millwall’s away strength mean they are narrow favourites at 2.47, with Hull priced at 3.1 and the draw at 3.32, reflecting the tight nature of this contest.
Prediction
Hull have won the first leg and kept clean sheets in all three of their previous play-off campaigns and have only lost one of the last five at home to Millwall, although the visitors have a knack of falling just short of the winning line in the Championship semi-finals.
