Championship play-offs get underway as Hull face Millwall

Championship play-offs get underway as Hull face Millwall

The Sky Bet Championship play-offs will get underway tonight with Millwall travelling to Yorkshire to take on Hull City.

Both sides went into the final day of the regular season with something to play for; had Ipswich dropped points against QPR, then Millwall would have been automatically promoted to the Premier League. Meanwhile, Hull just needed to beat Norwich to confirm their play-off spot, which, of course, they did. Millwall finished third with 83 points, whilst The Tigers finished sixth with 73 points.

The two meetings this season saw the respective away team pick up the win; Hull won 3-1 at The Den in December, and The Lions returned the favour at the MKM Stadium in March. However, Hull have won six of their last 11 home games against tonight’s opponents, but it may not be that simple this evening as Millwall are unbeaten in their last eight away trips.

Millwall have never been in the Premier League since its inception in 1992, and Hull haven’t been in the top flight since their 2017 relegation under Marco Silva. This is the best opportunity either side has had in that time, with just 270 minutes of football between them and glory.

Tonight’s managers have spoken with the media ahead of the clash, with Millwall’s Alex Neil stating, “The challenge for us against Hull is going to be that they’re not necessarily a possession-based team, they’re not going to go and make the pitch massive, start popping the ball about, and we need to worry about them breaking us down every time they’ve got it.

“But what they are is really dangerous in transition. They’re really dangerous in breaks in the play where, if you give the ball away cheaply or you make a mistake, they can punish you. They’re dangerous in both boxes in terms of physicality, size, and height. I think they’ve got a good presence.”

Meanwhile, Sergej Jakirovic has praised his side for reaching the play-offs, saying, “I feel excellent, this is a big achievement for us. I feel like we won the league.”

Kick-off is scheduled for 8pm (UK time) this evening.