Middlesbrough FC told to 'fear' Southampton - one Tonda Eckert star tipped for revenge | OneFootball

FLW's Southampton fan pundit believes midfielder Finn Azaz could come back to haunt Middlesbrough when the two sides meet in the play-offs.

Southampton are preparing to take on Middlesbrough in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Middlesbrough spent much of the season in the automatic promotion places, but a run of just two wins in 12 games between February and April saw Kim Hellberg's men surrender their hold on second place.

Boro went into the final day with a slim chance of making the top two, but Ipswich Town's victory over Queens Park Rangers meant that even a win would not have been enough, and, in any case, they were held to a 2-2 draw by Wrexham.

However, the dropped points at the SToK Cae Ras did still prove costly for Boro as they dropped to fifth in the table, with Southampton claiming fourth spot after a 3-1 victory at Preston North End and securing home advantage for the second leg on Tuesday.

The Saints may have just fallen short of automatic promotion themselves, but they are certainly the form team coming into the play-offs, with Tonda Eckert's side going unbeaten in their final 19 games of the regular season.

While the clash is already intriguing enough, Saturday's game will also see midfielder Finn Azaz return to the Riverside Stadium for the second time since leaving Boro for Southampton in August for an initial fee of £12 million, potentially rising to £14 million.

Azaz, who has scored 11 goals and provided eight assists in 45 appearances for the Saints so far, was given a hostile reception in January when his side lost 4-0 on Teesside, and Boro's head of football Kieran Scott revealed in September that the 25-year-old "felt that people didn’t like him" prior to his summer exit.

Finn Azaz tipped to haunt Middlesbrough as confident Southampton claim dropped

When asked which opposition player the Saints should be wary of on Saturday, FLW's Southampton fan pundit Martin Sanders (FootballMartin_ on YouTube) insisted that Middlesbrough should be fearing Eckert's side instead, and he predicted that Azaz could have a big part to play against his former club.

"I don't fear anyone from Boro, to be honest," Martin told FLW.

"That's not being arrogant, but they should fear us. We're the in-form side, we're the favourites.

"I don't fear anybody as a Saints fan, I think it's all about us.

"I think if there's anybody that should be feared on the day it's Finn Azaz because he owes Boro one big time after the abuse he got when he went back there in January, he got dogs abuse.

"There's 200 bookmarks on a tweet, and there is no doubt that that may just come back to haunt the Boro fans.

"I don't fear anyone, and that's not being arrogant, but I just think we, on paper, have a really good side.

"We have a side that should beat them if we turn up."

Southampton will be keen to inflict double Middlesbrough revenge on Saturday

With Middlesbrough rediscovering their form in recent weeks and Southampton unbeaten in the league since mid-January, it looks set to be a mouth-watering play-off tie between the two clubs.

Shortly before the start of their unbeaten run, the Saints were hammered 4-0 by Boro at the Riverside Stadium, but they have improved significantly since that nightmare afternoon, and Eckert will be keen for his side to make amends on their return to Teesside.

However, while the whole Southampton team will be hoping to inflict revenge on Boro, Azaz may feel he has a particularly strong point to prove after he was taunted by supporters of his former club following the January defeat, and he will come into the game in confident mood following his stunning strike in the recent FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City.