Millwall host Hull City at The Den at 20:00 BST on Monday in the second leg of the Championship play-off semi-final, with Hull boss Sergej Jakirovic making two changes and switching to a back three after the tie was 0-0 following the first leg at the MKM Stadium on Friday.
Millwall were unchanged from Friday’s game while Hull have reshaped their defence for a visit that will send the winner into the Championship play-off final. The Lions are bidding to reach their first ever Championship play-off final, and Hull arrive having last played the Wembley showpiece in 2016.
The balance of the tie after the first meeting is stark: Millwall had 61.5 per cent of the possession but managed just two shots on target, hit the post and saw Ryan Leonard have a late effort ruled out for a foul. That lack of cutting edge contrasts with Millwall’s generally strong home defensive record this season — they recorded 11 clean sheets in 23 home games in the 2025-26 campaign and have won four of their last six home outings without conceding.
Hull’s credentials are mixed. They beat Millwall 3-1 at The Den in December and during the regular season won six of their nine away games against top 10 sides, a record that suggests they can thrive on the road in big matches. Hull clinched their play-off place on the last day of the season with a 2-1 victory over Norwich City, yet their form since has dipped: they have won just three of their previous 13 matches and have failed to win their last five road trips, their last away victory coming on March 10 when they beat Wrexham 2-1 at the Racecourse Ground.
There is more data behind the spotlight. Millwall won just two of their eight home games against top nine opposition in the Championship this season, a reminder that possession alone has not translated into decisive results against elite rivals. Hull, by contrast, can point to those six wins from nine away against top teams as evidence they know how to get results in hostile settings.
Injury constrains Millwall’s selection: Lukas Jensen, Caleb Taylor, Daniel Kelly and Massimo Luongo are all absent, four players the club will miss in a tie where margins are likely to be thin. Millwall’s unchanged selection suggests manager and dressing room trusted the template from the first leg; Jakirovic’s two changes and tactical shift to three at the back are a clear, opposite response from Hull.
That divergence creates the match’s central tension. Millwall dominated possession in the first leg but created little of real danger; Hull have recent away success against top sides but arrive on the back of poor form and a run without an away win stretching back to March 10. Phil Brown described the first leg as a positive start for his side, saying the result had been "not a bad start" and that it had been very positive, but the statistics show a tie that can flip on a single moment — a set-piece, a deflected strike, a tactical tweak.
Context narrows the stakes: Millwall finished third in the regular season after falling just a point short of second-placed Ipswich Town, while Hull secured sixth on the final day. Hull have previously won promotion from their two prior Championship play-off appearances in 2007-08 and 2015-16; Millwall have never reached the Championship play-off final. Both clubs therefore bring different histories and hunger into a match that will determine who plays for a place at Wembley.
Jakirovic’s back three and the two personnel switches are the clearest, most consequential moves on a night when tactical nuance is likely to decide the outcome. If Millwall cannot convert possession into clear chances again, Hull’s away pedigree against top teams — even amid recent poor form — gives Jakirovic’s side the edge. The Den will show whether Millwall can turn control into a first-ever trip to the play-off final or whether Hull’s reshaped defence and experience in big matches will carry them through.
