Middlesbrough have their own Ross Stewart up their sleeve for Southampton

All the pre-match talk surrounding Southampton's first leg clash at Middlesbrough in the Championship playoffs has now been dominated by a new Spygate incident coming to the surface.

Indeed, reports suggest that a Southampton analyst was spotted sneakily watching a Boro training session, in the build-up to the first leg tie on Teesside.

The Saints will hope they can pick up a win, despite all this pre-match chatter making Kim Hellberg's men a favourite with the neutral, with Tonda Eckert no doubt ready to throw in Ross Stewart for the intriguing game to come at the Riverside.

Stewart could be key at the Riverside

During the regular season, the ex-Sunderland striker very rarely needed a second bite of the cherry to power home some memorable strikes.

From only 11 Championship starts, Stewart has a sizeable eight goals next to his name, with a goal coming his way on the final day, as the Saints rounded off a rollercoaster campaign with a convincing 3-1 win at Preston North End.

With Cyle Larin also up the German's sleeve in the striker department, who equally has eight goals as his tally, it will be an interesting last-minute call as to who Eckert will start against Hellberg's hosts, with Stewart only needing 17 minutes of action recently to score a crucial equalising goal against Bristol City.

The Canadian only needed 22 minutes of action, himself, to score at Deepdale, with this flexibility as to who he will call upon as his main striker keeping Boro on their toes.

The promotion-chasing hosts do have their own Stewart, though, in this blistering attacker who has hit a purple patch at the best possible time for the Teesside outfit.

Middlesbrough's very own Stewart

Southampton will need to be wary of the home side's firepower, as opposed to just focusing on their own, with Morgan Whittaker collecting 14 goals and seven assists during the regular season, as a Finn Azaz-style playmaker.

The Saints defenders will also need to try and keep tabs on Tommy Conway, with the Scotsman - who shares national allegiances with Stewart - in red-hot form, heading into this feisty first leg match to come at the Riverside.

Across his last six league games, before the 46-game marathon officially concluded, Conway had powered home a lethal five goals and collected one assist, with a Stewart-like knack of always being in the right place at the right time to wreak havoc present.

He was very much playing in the same mould as the instinctive number 11 in Boro's recent 5-1 win over Watford, as the former Bristol City forward powered home two goals, from only 27 minutes of action, and 22 touches amassed.

While Boro will have Stewart's name down as a Saints attacking spark they must nullify, Eckert will surely also have noted Conway's name down as one forward presence the away side must silence, in order to put in a disciplined showing on their travels.

Both Southampton and Boro are teams who love an attacking performance, so the stage is set at the Riverside for a fascinating and compelling match, as Conway and Stewart butt heads for their respective teams.

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