Hull City vs Middlesbrough LIVE: Championship play-off final stats & head-to-head

Can Boro end hoodoo?

Hull City v Middlesbrough (15:30 BST)

Middlesbrough

While Hull have fond memories playing under the arch, Middlesbrough have yet to win at Wembley, old or new, but the good news is they are at least not playing Chelsea this afternoon.

They lost the Zenith Data Systems Cup final 1-0 to the Blues at Wembley in 1990 and drew the 1997 League Cup final against Leicester 1-1 - Fabrizio Ravanelli scoring the club's only Wembley goal - going on to lose the replay at Hillsborough before another defeat to Chelsea in the FA Cup final the following month.

Chelsea beat Boro by the same 2-0 scoreline in the 1998 League Cup final - so no third time lucky - and the Teesiders were also on the end of a 2-0 defeat by Norwich in the 2015 Championship play-off final.

Their overall play-off record is not much better: Boro went out to Coventry in the semi-finals under Michael Carrick in 2023, drawing 0-0 at the CBS Arena before Gus Hamer settled the second leg at the Riverside.

In 2018 Boro went out against Aston Villa, losing 1-0 at home under Tony Pulis before a stalemate at Villa Park in the second leg, with Middlesbrough failing to register a shot on target in either game.

Boro had made the 2015 final under Aitor Karanka with a thumping 5-1 semi-final win over Brentford but came unstuck in the final against the Canaries, going down 2-0 to two early goals against a side they had beaten by a combined score of 5-0 across their two regular-season meetings.

Boro’s only play-off success came in 1988 when they saw-off Chelsea – who had finished fourth-bottom of the top flight - 2-1 over two legs having beaten Bradford City 3-2 on aggregate in the semi-final.

Ultimate turnaround for Hull City?

Hull City v Middlesbrough (15:30 BST)

Hull City

What a year it has been for Hull City.

The Tigers finished 21st in the Championship last season, only avoiding relegation to League One on goal difference on the final day of the campaign, at the expense of Luton Town.

Head coach Ruben Selles left for Sheffield United and was replaced by an unknown quantity in English football in Sergej Jakirovic.

They were then hit with a transfer embargo in the summer and after 45 games of grinding, went into the final day of this season outside the play-off places.

It was, in fact, Middlesbrough they had to thank for holding Wrexham to a 2-2 draw on matchday 46, which allowed Hull to sneak back into sixth.

Then, in the play-off semi, the Tigers knocked out an impressive Millwall side who had finished third and 10 points clear of them.

And now Hull will have a chance to maintain their 100% record in second-tier play-off campaigns and, in doing so, return to the Premier League for the first time in nine years.

Who will end nine years of waiting?

Hull City v Middlesbrough (15:30 BST)

They might be just 68 miles apart, but Hull City and Middlesbrough have a bond which goes beyond mere geography.

In 2015-16 the two teams were promoted from the Championship together, Boro securing automatic promotion on goal difference ahead of Brighton, who lost out in the play-offs to Sheffield Wednesday, whom the Tigers then beat at Wembley to join Boro in the Premier League the following season.

It didn't go brilliantly for either team, if we're honest.

Boro only lost 20 games and their defence was top-half, however just five wins and 13 draws saw them finish second-bottom, six points behind the Tigers, who shipped an eye-watering 80 goals, 27 more than Boro, and joined them in an immediate return.

Sunderland were bottom that year but ended an eight-year wait for a top-flight return in the play-off final at Wembley 12 months ago, but who will join them in the Premier League come tea-time and break the more than decade-long spell of biannual reunions between the sides?

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Who do you think is going to get over the line this afternoon and win promotion to the Premier League? Hull City or Middlesbrough?

Would this be the best promotion yet for the Tigers? A reminder they only avoided relegation to League One on goal difference on the final day of last season.

And if it is Boro, what would you make of it after they were reinstated following Southampton's 'Spygate' antics?

Let us know via the Get Involved button on the left of the page if you're on desktop or a tablet - or at the top if you're on a mobile device.

Does play-off history favour Hull or Boro?

Hull City v Middlesbrough (15:30 BST)

It seems an awfully long time ago now, given how much has happened in the past three weeks, but this is how the Championship table finished.

Since the EFL rebranded the league names in 2004, the team finishing sixth has only gone on to win promotion via the play-offs twice.

The last time that happened was in 2009-10 when Blackpool reached the Premier League.

Meanwhile, the side finishing fifth has been successful on four occasions, with third-place going up nine times and fourth six times.

Read more about what the stats can tell us here.

That being said, it is the Tigers, of the two sides playing today, who fare better in the second-tier play-offs with a 100% record, winning their only two previous campaigns at this level in 2008 and 2016.

Boro have failed to win any of their past three second-tier play-off campaigns but did go up via this route when they beat Chelsea, who were in the top flight, in 1988, when the play-offs were formatted somewhat differently.

One change for Boro - Hackney back on the bench

Hull City v Middlesbrough (15:30 BST)

Kim Hellberg has made one enforced change to the Boro side which went down 2-1 in the second leg of their ill-fated play-off semi-final against Southampton.

Tommy Conway limped off with an injury which rules him out of this game, with fit-again midfielder Alan Browne named in an otherwise unchanged XI.

Better news for Boro is that Hayden Hackney is back on the bench.

When the 23-year-old limped off 72 minutes in against Bristol City at the Riverside on 14 March, Boro were 1-0 up, sitting second in the table and heading towards their ninth win in 13 games.

However the Robins snatched a last-gasp leveller and Boro only picked up 10 points from their final eight matches to fall short of automatic promotion, and failed to win either leg of their ill-fated semi-final against Southampton either.

'Would Hull City consider their legal standing?'

Hull City v Middlesbrough (15:30 BST)

Mike White

BBC Radio Humberside sports editor

There will be questions about whether Hull City consider their legal position in all of it [Spygate], because they have been put in a position where they have had a couple of days' notice to prepare for Middlesbrough.

But I think there's too many good professionals at Hull City. I would be amazed if they hadn't done some sort of work, prep or plan for Middlesbrough being the opponent.

Ultimately, in the public eye, they have been given three days' notice to prepare for Middlesbrough. So would they consider their legal standing?

The hope is they go into the final, win the final, and justice has been done in that sense.

It's mucky, it's horrible and not a nice position for anyone to be in. Southampton made their bed and have to lie in it.

Hull City are 'collateral damage' - Jakirovic

Hull City v Middlesbrough (15:30 BST)

Hull City

The impact of the 'Spygate' situation on Hull City cannot be understated amid all of this chaos.

Just four days ago, Tigers assistant manager Dean Holden said they were fully focused on preparing to face Southampton.

"If we're asking our analyst team, which is quite small, to prepare for two games we're asking for problems," he told BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club podcast this week.

But now Hull will take on Middlesbrough.

"We can say everything is unfair in this last two weeks. You don't know what's going on," Tigers boss Sergej Jakirovic told BBC Radio Humberside.

"If you look from a Middlesbrough point of view they knew if they were successful they would play against us so I can turn the situation around but I will not do that. We will try to beat them on the pitch."

He added: "We are collateral damage because we are waiting on [an] opponent and you don't know what's going on, what's happening."

Boro boss Hellberg will feel 'vindicated'

Hull City v Middlesbrough (15:30 BST)

Mark Drury

BBC Radio Tees Middlesbrough commentator

It's not the build-up anybody would want for a game of this magnitude. Obviously, it's been messy. Well, messy doesn't even cut it, does it really?

Kim Hellberg will feel absolutely vindicated because everybody could see and hear and feel just how much that [semi-final defeat and the manner in which it transpired] had hurt him.

He believes there is a right and a wrong way to do this. And there is no doubt that Southampton's management in this case have taken completely the wrong way of doing it.

The fact they've admitted to three breaches - two in recent weeks but one not so very recent - does rather suggest this has been a pattern of behaviour.

So he will feel absolutely vindicated and I hope he's feeling energised now [and] I hope the players are as a result of this.

'Stain will sit with Saints for many years'

Hull City v Middlesbrough (15:30 BST)

Adam Blackmore

BBC Radio Solent sports editor

As a neutral observer who has grown to love dealing with the club over many years, and loved getting to know the people who work at the club and support it, the stain goes beyond the people who were responsible.

It will sit with the club for many years, and that is something they did not consider when they made their appalling decisions to put the club's reputation at risk.

You also have an owner who has put in £100m this year to support the club with the hope he may get something back at the end of it and now that has been taken away as well, so what will it do for the financial future of Southampton?

What they put at risk was never worth doing it for.

This pain cuts deep - Scienza

Hull City v Middlesbrough (15:30 BST)

Southampton

Southampton winger Leo Scienza believes Saints fans "deserved better" after the club were expelled from the Championship play-offs.

The 27-year-old was the first Saints player to post on social media after the club were removed from the play-offs.

"Disappointment, anger, sadness. It's difficult to find the right words for what we're all feeling right now," he wrote on his Instagram account.

"What has happened over the last days is heartbreaking. For the club, for every player in this dressing room, and above all for our supporters. A moment like this should never end the way it did.

"I feel sorry for every football fan, as well as the players and supporters of Hull and Boro, who were caught up in all of this chaos too.

"We gave everything for this dream. Day after day, sacrifice after sacrifice, always believing we could bring this club back to where it belongs.

"For me, the dream of playing in the Premier League was something I fought for with everything I had. That's why this pain cuts so deep."

'Painful for Saints fans, players and staff'

Hull City v Middlesbrough (15:30 BST)

Southampton

Southampton said their expulsion from the play-off final was an "extremely disappointing outcome" for everybody connected with the club.

"We know how painful this moment will be for our supporters, players, staff, commercial partners and the wider community who have given so much backing to the team throughout the season and we apologise once again to everyone impacted by this," the club said in a statement.

"While we fully acknowledge the seriousness of this matter and the scrutiny that has followed, the club has consistently believed the original sporting sanction was disproportionate, a view that has been widely shared by many in the football community.

"We would like to place on record our sincere thanks to our supporters for the support, patience and loyalty they have shown throughout an incredibly difficult period.

"Southampton Football Club has a proud history and strong foundations, but it is clear that trust now needs to be rebuilt. That work begins immediately. The club will reflect carefully on the events that have led to this point, learn from them and take the necessary steps to move forward responsibly."

The club added that it will respond with "humility, accountability and determination to put things right".

Where to start...?

Hull City v Middlesbrough (15:30 BST)

Good afternoon, everybody.

Well, this has not been your typical lead-up to the most lucrative game in world football, has it?

We only had final confirmation of which team Hull City would even be facing at Wembley with a place in the Premier League at stake about 72 hours ago.

As you will all likely be aware, it was supposed to be Southampton after they beat Middlesbrough in the semi-final.

But Saints were expelled from the play-offs for spying on Boro training and their appeal against that decision was rejected on Wednesday.

Boro have been reinstated and will take on the Tigers instead in the '£200m game'.

It is an absolute scorcher in north-west London today. Build-up coming your way.

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