The EFL Championship playoffs come to an end on Saturday, May 23 with the promotion final, which will determine whether Hull City or Middlesbrough will get a spot in the 2026-27 English Premier League season. This was originally supposed be a playoff match between Hull City and Southampton, but the latter was expelled after evidence came forward about the club spying on Middlesbrough ahead of their playoff match.

Kickoff from Wembley Stadium in London is set for 10:30 a.m. ET, and the action will stream on Paramount+. Middlesbrough are -120 favorites on the 90-minute money line in the latest Hull City vs. Middlesbrough odds at DraftKings Sportsbook while Hull City are +330 underdogs. A draw in regular time is +265 and the total is 2.5 (Over +105, Under -125). Before locking in your wagers for this playoff final, be sure to see what SportsLine soccer expert Jon Eimer is betting for this game.

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Eimer finished 2023 as SportsLine’s No. 1 soccer expert, posting a 248-234-12 record (+25.93 units) on SportsLine article picks. Eimer has been red-hot in 2026, posting a profit in multiple leagues, including the Premier League, Champions League, La Liga and more. Anyone following his soccer betting picks could have seen huge returns at sportsbooks and on betting apps. 

Here are Eimer’s best bets and analysis for Hull City vs. Middlesbrough on Saturday.

Hull City vs. Middlesbrough best bets

• Both teams to score (-115): 1 unit
• Middlesbrough money line (-120): 1 unit
• Middlesbrough Over 1.5 goals team total (-105): 1 unit

Spygate

I’m not exaggerating when I say we could do a 50-page writeup talking about everything going into this absolutely insane matchup. We’re going to just break down the big key points here, starting with Spygate.

A few days ago, this promotion final was between Hull City and Southampton. Now, we have Hull City playing Middlesbrough. Southampton were found guilty of breaking a good faith ruling after they admitted to sending spies to Middlesbrough before their match to learn their tactics and get an upper hand. After their failed appeal, Southampton were removed from the final matchup.

This means Hull City has been training to play a team they are no longer playing, and Middlesbrough have to start practicing again to prepare for the match. This is an unprecedented incident and while it’s a mess, we ultimately do have two clubs playing for Premier League promotion and we need to figure out how to bet on them. I’d highly recommend reading more into this ruling if you have the time!

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The $200 million match

This is the biggest match of the year for these clubs and it’s not even close. The winner of this match will find themselves playing in the Premier League next season, and with that comes a windfall of money that will change these clubs for life.

This is called the $200 million match, because that’s roughly how much the winning club will get. There will be travel, new TV deals, new sponsorships and new prizing to the winning club. Hull City have already defied expectations by making it to the final as a sixth-place team, but even with everything Spygate related making this messy, I think they’re going to be just a bit outclassed here.

Middlesbrough had the second-best defense in the league, only behind Coventry City. While Hull City’s offense was good, their defense has been leaky all season long and I expect them to struggle to hold back a spiteful, angry and ready to roll Middlesbrough side.

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