Hull City's Premier League odds after winning Championship play-off final

Jaquob Crooke Updated: 25 May 26 15:46

Hull City are back in the Premier League for the first time since 2017 after Oliver McBurnie's stoppage time winner saw the Tigers defeat Middlesbrough 1-0 in the Championship play-off final.

On a scorching hot day at Wembley, Hull became the first team since Cardiff City in 2010 to finish sixth in the Championship and achieve play-off glory, battling through all of their fixtures without conceding a goal.

In a tense and anxious affair, the game appeared to be heading into extra time when Yu Hirakawa drove towards the byline and whipped in a venomous cross which Middlesbrough goalkeeper Sol Brynn fumbled straight into the path of McBurnie, who made no mistake as he pounced on the loose ball and slammed home.

It was quite fitting that Hull's path back to the promised land had been sealed by McBurnie, with the Scottish striker a talismanic figure throughout the campaign with 17 goals and eight assists to fire the Tigers into the play-offs.

Matchwinner McBurnie said post-match: "This game sums us up, we knew we wouldn't have all of the ball. We knew we were going to be right up against it. We knew that we'd have one chance. It was written that I'd get it."

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The headlines heading into the showdown at Wembley were dominated by the drama of 'Spygate', which resulted in Southampton's expulsion from the Championship play-off final despite the Saints toppling Middlesbrough in their semi-final tie.

In the wake of these events, Hull City owner Acun Ilicali vowed to take legal action if his side failed to triumph, but the Turkish businessman needn't have worried.

Hull have been massive underdogs throughout the course of this campaign. Avoiding relegation on goal difference last season, Ilicali made the eye-catching decision to sack Ruben Selles - who he'd only hired six months earlier - and pursue a left-field appointment in the shape of Jakirovic, a Bosnian coach who had only managed in Croatia, Slovenia and Turkey.

They were tipped by many critics to be battling relegation again, especially with the club under a transfer embargo which prevented them from signing a player for a fee. Although a difficult start inititally reaffirmed fears of a potentially long season, it didn't take long before Jakirovic started to get the most out of his squad.

A six-game unbeaten run from September into November catapulted Hull into the play-off picture and from thereon in, they were consistently in the promotion frame. A 2-0 win over Wrexham in December saw them climb into sixth and they remained in the play-off places until mid-April, when their promotion hopes threatened to derail following a poor spate of form.

Losing 2-1 to Charlton Athletic in their penultimate match looked to have extinguished their play-off hopes, but fortune was on their side in the concluding round of fixtures as they come from behind to defeat Norwich City and leapfrog Wrexham, who failed to win against Middlesbrough.

Hull's presence in the top six defied data. If matches were decided by projected figures, the Tigers would have been in the bottom three; which is why it's a good job football isn't decided entirely on Expected Goals and Expected Points.

While they far exceeded their projections, Hull did still concede an abundance of goals. Jakirovic's men shipped 66 in total, a tally that was the fourth-highest in the division, and they conceded the second-most shots on target.

But Hull have continually demonstrated they're the makers of their own luck and architects of their own destiny. They were ruthlessly efficient in front of goal, with McBurnie and his striking accomplice Joe Gelhardt proving to be two of the most accurate forwards in the league.

Nobody expected them to reach the Premier League and yet here we are, witnessing the Tigers return to the top-flight for the 2026/27 season.