Championship Play-off Final preview and odds: Hull City vs Sheffield Wednesday

Published on: 25/05/2016

Championship Play-off Final preview and odds: Hull City vs Sheffield Wednesday

May 28, 2016 17:00pm - Wembley

Championship Play-off Final

Hull City and Sheffield Wednesday will go head-to-head in the £170m Championship Play-Off final on Saturday with a place in the Premier League up for grabs.

Hull looking for instant return

Hull City booked their ticket to Wembley after edging to a 3-2 aggregate win over Derby County in the first play-off game. Despite cruising to a 3-0 win away from home in the first leg, the Tigers made hard work of it on home soil by conceding twice and having to hang on for the win.

Steve Bruce`s men began the season as promotion favourites - and given the squad at their disposal, those expectations were not unrealistic. However, a poor run of form towards the start of 2016 prevented them from grabbing an automatic promotion spot.

The Yorkshire side will be banking on another strong performance from their backline which was the second-meanest in the league this term, while top scorer Abel Hernandez will lead the line up front.

Wednesday dreaming of top-flight return

After a 16-year absence, Sheffield Wednesday are just one step away from returning to the top tier of English football. They made it to the final with relative ease after beating Brighton 3-1 over two legs. They dominated the first leg at Hillsborough and cruised to a 2-0 win - however, they probably should have scored more. Despite conceding first in the second leg, they were able to strike back quickly and never looked in danger.

The Owls will be underdogs for this game but should not be written off. Their manager has done a great job in his first season and has a good squad at his disposal. As well as finishing sixth in the league they also made it to the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup.

Team news

Nick Powell is out of action for Hull City.

Meanwhile, Wednesday should have a full squad to choose from.

Recent form (League)

Hull City: LWWLW

Sheffield Wednesday: DWLWD

Betting odds and tips

Hull have recent Premier League experience and proved in the second leg against Derby that they can hold their nerve. With so much at stake, this game might just be a step too far for the ever-improving Owls.

Back Hull City to progress at 6/5 with Bet365.

By Neil Morris

Published on: 25/05/2016

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (25/05/2016 17:45:21) but are subject to change.