Hull and Middlesbrough set for unique play-off final
· Yahoo Sports
In the 40-year history of the play-offs, never has the pre-match talk before a final been so overshadowed by a team who are not involved in the match.
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Tuesday brought the news that Southampton had been expelled from the Championship play-offs for spying on opponents, with their place in the final against Hull City instead taken by Middlesbrough, who they had beaten in the semis.
Since then Saints have appealed unsuccessfully against the decision, with an independent commission ruling their boss Tonda Eckert had "specifically authorised the observations".
There is likely to be more fallout in the coming weeks but, in the meantime, it will be one of Hull or Middlesbrough who will be celebrating promotion to the Premier League on Saturday evening.
BBC Sport takes a look at the two teams who will be contesting the '£200m game' at Wembley (15:30 BST).
Surprise package Tigers 'collateral damage'
Mo Belloumi (centre) came off the bench to score Hull City's first and set up their second in their 2-0 semi-final win at Millwall [Getty Images]Hull City boss Sergej Jakirovic did not hold back when asked about his feelings on where the furore surrounding Southampton's activities left his own side.
"We can say everything is unfair in this last two weeks. You don't know what's going on," he told BBC Radio Humberside.
"We are collateral damage because we are waiting on [an] opponent and you don't know what's going on, what's happening."
The Tigers, who beat third-placed Millwall to secure their place in the play-off final last Monday, have been the division's surprise package this season.
The East Yorkshire side survived relegation to League One on goal difference last May before appointing former Bosnia international Jakirovic as their new boss.
They were then hit with a three-window transfer embargo, which was later reduced to two after a successful appeal, and few had them down as promotion contenders.
However, they confounded those expectations and spent the vast majority of the season in the top six.
The Tigers were still in automatic contention at the end of March only for a six-game stretch in April to leave them seventh going into the final day.
Victory at home over Norwich City and Boro's draw at Wrexham meant they climbed back into the play-off spots when it mattered most and they overcame the Lions, who had finished three places and 10 points above them, to reach Wembley.
Hull, who are looking for a third win in their third Championship play-off final, will be without forward Kyle Joseph with an injury picked up in the win at Millwall.
- Southampton lose appeal against play-off expulsion
- FA opens Southampton investigation over Spygate
- Southampton's Eckert authorised spying missions
Reinstated Boro aim to seize final reprieve
Hayden Hackney is set to return for Middlesbrough after over two months out [Shutterstock]Middlesbrough's presence at Wembley comes at the end of their own dramatic, rollercoaster season for which nobody could have written the script.
They appointed a new boss last summer in Rob Edwards, who made a great start on the pitch and behind the scenes. But when a job came up at struggling Wolves in the Premier League, Edwards scarpered to the club where he spent four years as player, just three months into his first season on Teesside and much to the displeasure of Boro fans.
In came unknown Swede Kim Hellberg, and the humble ex-teacher steered Boro to the top of the Championship by February on the back of six straight wins with eye-catching football.
But despite holding a position in the top two for 35 of the 46 match-days, Boro were undone by a loss of form and loss of key players in the run-in as they stumbled home in fifth.
That set up the play-off semi-final with in-form Southampton, who had not lost in the league since a 2-1 home defeat by Hull on 17 January.
Their preparation was infamously interrupted by finding a member of Saints' backroom team at their training ground two days before the first leg and 'Spygate' was born.
Now just over a fortnight later, having lost 2-1 on aggregate to Southampton in the semi-finals before being reinstated, they find themselves one game away from a Premier League return after nine years away.
Influential skipper Hayden Hackney is back after 10 games out with a groin injury, but Scotland forward Tommy Conway has been ruled out of the game - and the World Cup - with an ankle injury.
Stat attack
- This is the first meeting in a play-off final between teams who finished fifth and sixth since Aston Villa beat Derby County in 2019.
- Hull have a 100% record in Championship play-off finals, winning promotion under the arch in 2008 and 2016.
- Middlesbrough have never won a match at Wembley.
- Hull have won only two of their past nine matches; Boro have managed only two victories in their past 12 games.