The multi-million pound game sees Bristol City who came back from a 10-game malaise to beat Crystal Palace in both legs up against Hull City, who conquered Watford.

Statistically speaking, Gary Johnson's men shouldn’t have defeated Palace. The Robins were coming off a wretched run of form, while their opponents couldn't have gone into this confrontation in more different circumstances.

The south Londoners supposedly had momentum on their side after being defeated just once in their previous dozen games. Statistics, though, get tossed out the window in the crazed roulette wheel that is the play-offs.

'Sir Thomas More wore a scratchy and painfully-abrasive lice-infested "hair-shirt" for his whole adult life to punish himself for his mortal sins. If he was around these days he'd just play in the Championship'


The anti play-off camp would point to how unfair this is - but at least they have two legs to prove themselves. At Wembley the winner will be thrust into the best league in the world while the losers will have to face another season in the Championship, one of the toughest leagues to get out of.

Sir Thomas More wore a scratchy and painfully-abrasive lice-infested "hair-shirt" for his whole adult life to punish himself for his mortal sins. If he was around these days he'd just play in the Championship.

Because of the fact that the play-offs laugh in the face of form and statistics, they are very hard to predict. And the play-off final, a crazed one-off opportunity to join the big boys, throws a clutch of variables into the mix.

If Bristol City do succeed, it will be fascinating to see Lee Trundle in the Premier League. Many managers were taken in by his outrageous skills, but none were brave enough to take a gamble. Trundle has now forced himself to within 90 minutes of joining the elite in English football.

Hull City contain many players in their squad with top-flight experience, among them local stars Dean Windass and Nick Barmby as well as foreign players Henrik Pedersen and Jay-Jay Okocha. And along with the big names comes a big city, the "largest conurbation" in Europe, never to have boasted top-flight football.

I think that Hull will shade this game, with the vast reserves of experience that they can boast, but I don’t think this game will be won by more than a one-goal margin. Both teams will fight tooth and nail to get to the Premier League.