Southampton and Middlesbrough will compete for a place in the Championship play-off final.

The Saints will travel to the Riverside for the first leg match on Saturday lunchtime, before hosting Boro at St Mary’s on May 12.

Tonda Eckert’s team finished tied on points with the Teessiders, but they finished first in the standings due to a higher goal difference.

The Hampshire club had an excellent second half of the season, climbing into the play-offs and nearly into automatic promotion contention.

Meanwhile, Middlesbrough battled for form in the last weeks of the season, dropping out of the top two and into fifth place.

Southampton are looking for an immediate return to the Premier League, while Boro haven’t played at top level since 2017 – but their two-legged match has been spiced up.

Southampton respond to the EFL espionage charge and launch a new claim.

Middlesbrough claimed earlier this week that a member of the Saints’ staff was spotted filming a training session ahead of their semi-final first leg match, and The Telegraph reports that Southampton has now accepted the EFL’s charge of spying.

The EFL formally charged the Hampshire club after Boro accused a man of photographing and videotaping their training, and the club apparently accepted the claim that they were seeking an unfair advantage ahead of Saturday’s match at the Riverside.

However, Southampton has since claimed that the analyst in question was acting on his own behalf and was not directed by the Championship team to spy on Middlesbrough’s training.

The Saints are thought to be hoping that this argument would result in a moderate sentence from the EFL, which implemented spying laws following the original Spygate affair in 2019 involving Leeds United and Derby County.

The Whites were fined £200,000 after a member of Marcelo Bielsa’s staff was caught spying on the Rams’ training ahead of their league game.

It is claimed that Boro have learned via a whistleblower that this is not the first time their play-off opponent has spied on another team’s practice this season.

It is unclear what punishment Southampton will face from the EFL, as there are several possibilities on the table.

This involves a possible point reduction or even ejection from the competition, which has raised emotions ahead of their meeting this afternoon.

Southampton have taken an unneeded risk ahead of the Middlesbrough clash.

With the wealth of knowledge teams now have about their opponents, including the experience of facing Middlesbrough twice this season, this was an unwarranted risk ahead of such a crucial game.

Southampton will be hoping that their lone wolf defense would mitigate any punishment, but if there is evidence that this is a frequent occurrence, they may face a large penalty.

It has also heightened the atmosphere ahead of an already historic event, and it will provide even more motivation for the Middlesbrough players, as if they needed any.

This is a tremendous opportunity to earn promotion, but the Saints have put themselves at a disadvantage in the buildup to the game with this distracting scandal.