"At the end of the regular season Millwall and Hull were separated by precisely 10 points, with the Londoners ending up just a couple away from skipping the playoffs entirely by coming second, and Hull also two away from skipping the playoffs by finishing seventh. That despite Millwall scoring just 64 goals, the fewest in the top eight and, indeed, not as many as Sheffield United, who finished 13th."
"But sure, the playoffs are notoriously about recent form. Here Millwall's superiority is even more pronounced: three wins and no defeats in their last five put them fourth in the form table, while Hull lost two and won only one of theirs and are 17th. Over the final 10 games of the season Millwall won 18 points, a solid playoff-securing level of achievement, and Hull a midtable 13."
"Across the entire second half of the season only Southampton who play the first leg of their playoff semi-final at Middlesbrough tomorrow lunchtime won more points than Millwall's 47, while Hull only got 35. The two games they already played this season aren't much of a predictive help, both having been won 3-1 by the away team, though Millwall's victory at the MKM Stadium in March was the more recent by three months (Gavin Ward, who refereed Hull's win at the Den, is also in charge of this game)."
Team lineups list Hull players including Pandur, Coyle, Egan, Hughes, Giles, Slater, Crooks, Belloumi, Millar, Gelhardt, and McBurnie, with named substitutes Phillips, Hirakawa, Dowell, Lundstram, Joseph, Koumas, Ajayi, Gyabi, and McNair. Millwall lineups include Patterson, Leonard, Crama, Cooper, Sturge, Mazou-Sacko, De Norre, Azeez, Neghli, Ballo, and Coburn, with substitutes Crocombe, McNamara, Mitchell, Ivanovic, Doughty, Langstaff, Watson, Cundle, and Bannan. Millwall and Hull finished 10 points apart, with Millwall second and Hull seventh. Millwall scored 64 goals, had three wins and no defeats in their last five, and earned 47 points in the second half, while Hull earned 35 and had weaker form.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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