Hull City vs Middlesbrough Championship play-off final preview, team news and prediction

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In quite possibly the most bizarre build-up to a Championship Play-Off final in the history of the event, Hull City finally learned their opponents with "Spygate" concluding. After Southampton beat Middlesbrough, the saga resulted in Saints' expulsion from the play-offs and a points deduction with Boro reinstated and a place in next season's Premier League up for grabs.

The bookies have the reinstated club as the firm favourites in this match at 3/4 with BetGoodwin while Hull are 3/1 outsiders with Sky Bet to produce a shock and a draw is 12/5 with Paddy Power . You can also find more betting offers at the Mirror Betting Hubs Free Bets offers .

This looks set to be a tight, tense contest, and the value may lie in a draw across the 90 minutes. Hull have shared the spoils five times in their last nine matches, most recently in the home leg of their semi-final against Millwall. Middlesbrough have been similarly hard to separate, with six draws in their last 11 games, including a goalless home first leg against Southampton.

Even so, goals at both ends feel likely. Both teams have been involved in plenty of matches where each side scores: five of Hull’s last seven have seen BTTS, and the same has landed in five of Boro’s last eight.

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That trend also shows up in the head-to-head. Six of the last eight league meetings have featured goals for both sides, including Middlesbrough’s 4-1 win in December. Hull, though, did take the reverse fixture 1-0 later that month.

“Spygate” may be an unavoidable distraction, but it’s hard to see either side taking big risks early. A cautious 1-1 draw after 90 minutes looks a strong fit — and it wouldn’t be a surprise if this one ends up decided on penalties.

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Hull City could be missing several influential players for Saturday afternoon’s play-off final. The Tigers were without Cody Drameh and Amir Hadziahmetovic for their semi-final second-leg win over Millwall, and it remains unclear whether either will be fit enough to feature at Wembley.

Head coach Sergej Jakirovic has also confirmed that loan midfielder Toby Collyer has returned to parent club Manchester United and will play no part this weekend, although he is expected to travel to London to support the squad. Elsewhere, Eliot Matazo is recovering from ACL surgery, while Kyle Joseph is ruled out with an ankle issue after undergoing an operation on Monday. Hull hope he will be available again for the start of next season.

Middlesbrough, meanwhile, also have a number of fitness concerns. Midfielder Hayden Hackney has been sidelined since March with a calf problem but is back in training and will face a late assessment to determine his availability. There are also question marks over Alex Bangura and Kaly Sene, while Alfie Jones and Tommy Conway are both ruled out, with Conway having picked up an ankle injury in the second-leg semi-final defeat to Southampton.

Boro’s head coach Michael Hellberg admitted it has been difficult to gauge the squad’s mental state after the emotions of the Southampton tie and disruption to training, but said the group have now been able to turn their focus fully to the final, which he expects to be one of the biggest games of many players’ careers.

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