Millwall eye 'fairytale' ahead of Hull clash as Championship play-offs begin

[p]After 46 rounds of matches in English football's second-tier regular season, four teams remain standing in the race for promotion as the play-off semi-finals kick off on Friday.[/p][p]Championship winners [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/coventry/GOvB22xg/"]Coventry[/a] and second-placed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ipswich/thqhB2MB/"]Ipswich[/a] secured automatic promotion, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/millwall/6uz2cJBL/"]Millwall[/a] finishing third, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/southampton/WdKOwxDM/"]Southampton[/a] fourth, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/middlesbrough/6F0lvLNC/"]Middlesbrough[/a] fifth and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/hull-city/S66R0t75/"]Hull[/a] sixth.[/p][p]In the 40th season of the Football League play-offs, the post-season battle should be as captivating as ever, capable of producing drama and heartache.[/p][p]Hull will host Millwall in the first leg of their semi-final on Friday in a clash between two unexpected play-off participants.[/p][p]Millwall have not played in the Premier League since it was founded in 1992 - their only seasons in English football's top tier came in 1988/89 and 1989/90 when it was the First Division.[/p][p]The south London club, who finished just one point behind Ipswich, are in the second-tier play-offs for the first time since 2002.[/p][p]It has been a remarkably successful campaign, given that their payroll this season ranks 15th among the 24 Championship teams.[/p][p]Millwall boss Alex Neil, who led [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/norwich/Qo6off6p/"]Norwich[/a] into the Premier League via the play-offs in 2015, believes taking the Lions up would be his greatest achievement.[/p][embed guid="8b61737c-0e75-4c82-975c-f1ae1dcfd2e0" url="https://x.com/MillwallFC/status/2052363527403217401" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]"We're in the play-offs with an unbelievable season, but there's still a lot to play for," Neil told [i]BBC Radio London[/i].[/b][/p][p][b]"For this group, what we've done, I think we deserve to have something for our efforts come the end of it, not just a pat on the back and a well done.[/b][/p][p][b]"We're hoping there is still a fairytale ending for us."[/b][/p][h2]'A brilliant chance'[/h2][p]Standing in Millwall's way are Hull, who defied the odds to make the play-offs just 12 months after they narrowly avoided relegation to the third tier on the last day of the season.[/p][p]Hull last played in the Premier League in 2016/17 and are bidding to become the first team to go up from the Championship play-offs after finishing sixth since [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/blackpool/8EFIJthC/"]Blackpool[/a] 16 years ago.[/p][p]Southampton, who travel to Middlesbrough for their first leg on Saturday, are the bookmakers' favourites to win the play-offs after a blistering end to the season.[/p][p]Tonda Eckert's side were languishing in 15th place in January, before a 19-game unbeaten run in the league, featuring 14 wins, carried them into the top six.[/p][p]The Saints also upset Premier League leaders [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/hA1Zm19f/"]Arsenal[/a] in the FA Cup quarter-finals before narrowly losing to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/manchester-city/Wtn9Stg0/"]Manchester City[/a] in the semi-finals at Wembley.[/p][embed guid="6e96f346-c228-45d2-807a-f31aea3ef6aa" url="https://x.com/SouthamptonFC/status/2052434157716836788" social-type="twitter" /][p]Southampton, relegated from the Premier League last season, aim to return to Wembley in the play-off final on May 23, having won promotion by the same route in 2024.[/p][p][b]"No one cares in the end if you don't make it. We need to make that last step," Eckert said.[/b][/p][p]Middlesbrough haven't played in the Premier League for nine years, losing in the play-off semi-finals in 2018 and 2023.[/p][p]Kim Hellberg's team won just two of their last 10 matches this season.[/p][p]But like his managerial rivals in the play-offs, Hellberg is confident promotion glory lies in wait at the end of the nerve-shredding play-off finale.[/p][p][b]"We are going into the play-offs. Four teams, 25% chance - a brilliant chance," he said.[/b][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/soccer/england/championship/"]Follow the playoffs with Flashscore.[/a][/p]