Preview: Millwall vs Hull City - prediction, team news, lineups

A place in the Championship playoff final will be the prize for the winner of Monday's semi-final second leg between Millwall and Hull City.

The two sides played out a goalless draw in Friday's first leg, leaving the tie finely poised ahead of the return fixture at The Den. 

Match preview

Millwall had to settle for the playoffs after they fell just a point short of second-placed Ipswich Town in the regular season.

The Lions would have still been pleased with their third-placed finish, representing their best finishing position in the second tier since the 1993-94 season.

However, their ultimate goal is to compete in the Premier League for the first time and in the top division for the first time since 1989-90.

Millwall had to settle for a goalless draw in Friday's semi-final first leg against Hull after Ryan Leonard's late effort was ruled out for a foul. 

After extending their unbeaten run to six matches, Alex Neil's side will return to the familiar surroundings of The Den, where they have won four of their last six home outings without conceding (L2).

In fact, Millwall recorded 11 clean sheets across their 23 home games in the 2025-26 campaign, one more than any other team in the second tier.

While their strong backline gives them a foundation to build from, the Lions may be slightly concerned by the fact they have failed to win their last four home matches against Hull since a 2-1 victory in April 2022. 

© Imago / IMAGO / APL

In contrast to their playoff opponents, Hull secured their playoff place on the last day of the season, when they pipped Wrexham to sixth spot with a narrow 2-1 victory over Norwich City. 

The Tigers have a history of success at this stage of a Championship season, having won promotion in both of their previous two second-tier playoff appearances in 2007-08 and 2015-16. 

However, they will have to do it the hard way if they are to set up a final clash against Southampton or Middlesbrough after failing to make the most of home advantage in Friday's goalless affair, representing their fifth draw in the last eight outings (W1, D2). 

In fact, Sergej Jakirovic's side have won just three of their previous 13 matches, so they do not have form on their side ahead of Monday's trip to The Den. 

Having failed to win their last five road trips, Hull will head to the capital with hopes of claiming their first away win since beating Wrexham 2-1 at the Racecourse Ground on March 10.

The Tigers have at least won their last two away games against Millwall, including a 3-1 success in December's reverse fixture.

Hull will be looking for a repeat of that strong attacking display, especially after they failed to show why they finished the season as the fifth-lowest scorers in Friday's home clash. 

Millwall Championship form:

Hull City Championship form:

Team News

© Imago / IMAGO / Focus Images

Millwall are unable to call upon the injured quartet of Lukas Jensen, Caleb Taylor, Daniel Kelly and Massimo Luongo.

Neil is likely to keep changes to a minimum, although Barry Bannan could come into his thinking after putting in a bright performance in his late substitute appearance at the MKM Stadium.

Josh Coburn will be hoping to retain his place ahead of Mihailo Ivanovic after shaking off a hip problem to play 86 minutes in the first leg. 

As for Hull, they remain without the services of Eliot Matazo, Amir Hadziahmetovic and Cody Drameh, the latter of whom could return for the final if his teammates can secure a spot at Wembley.

Jakirovic could opt for consistency and select an unchanged lineup as long as there are no fresh injury concerns ahead of Friday's trip to The Den. 

Oli McBurnie will continue to offer Hull's main goal threat after finishing the regular season as the league's joint-second highest scorer with 17 goals in 38 matches. 

Millwall possible starting lineup:

Patterson; Leonard, Crama, Cooper, Sturge; Bannan, Mazou-Sacko; Azeez, Neghli, Ballo; Coburn

Hull City possible starting lineup:

Pandur; Coyle, Egan, Hughes, Giles; Slater, Crooks; Belloumi, Gelhardt, Millar; McBurnie

We say: Millwall 2-0 Hull City

Millwall's strong defence has been the backbone of their success this season, and we think they will produce another resolute display on Monday while combining a greater attacking threat to get the better of a Hull side that has lost three of their last five away games. 

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.