Saints
- Saints boss Tonda Eckert has turned St Mary’s into a football club again with his pragmatic yet dynamic brand of high-tempo soccer.
- It took some time for the Saints to recover and they could not quite get into the automatic promotion places.
- A long unbeaten run in the league saw them finish comfortably in the top six.
- They were on a long unbeaten run in the Championship going into their play-off semi-final with Middlesbrough, which they only won 2-1 after extra time.
Hull
- Hull boss Sergej Jakirović’s positive, attacking approach has taken the Tigers into the play-offs and won him the Manager of the Year nomination.
- Hull won three and drew one of their last five matches, finishing with a decisive away win in the second leg of their semi-final to make it 2-0 on aggregate against Millwall.
- Hull have a huge advantage in the head-to-head record having beaten Saints 3-1 and 2-1 in this season’s two previous meetings.
- Their Wembley experience could prove crucial in this high-pressure occasion.
Head-to-Head
- Saints finished 4th on 80 points from 46 games.
- Hull finished 6th on 73 from 46 games.
- Hull have beaten Southampton 3-1 (h) and 2-1 (a) in the Championship this season.
Key Players
- Hull have enough game-changing talent to get a goal, such as Oli McBurnie, the 17-goal top-scorer.
- Saints possess the physical presence of Ross Stewart, who can also pop up with an important goal.
- A crucial header from the Scot got them through their semi-final against Middlesbrough and he finished level with Adam Armstrong on 11 league goals.
- Shea Charles made a statement with his extra-time winner against Boro.
- Joe Gelhardt provides the creative spark for Hull and was their main goal threat in the play-off semis with a goal.
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Players to watch:
- Oli McBurnie
- Ross Stewart
- Adam Armstrong
- Joe Gelhardt
- Shea Charles
Betting Insights
- Saints are 1.88 favorites to win.
- Hull are 4.64.
- Bookmakers are still coming in under 2.5 goals at 1.66.
Prediction
- This should be a close game.
- Take the Tigers to prevail by a goal.
