Boss Leam Richardson on today's Rotherham United test as Southampton raid Premier League for talent

The Championship's fourth-placed side this week signed Bournemouth attacker David Brooks on loan for the rest of the season and are likely to name him in their matchday squad at AESSEAL New York Stadium.

The player was with Sheffield United as a teenager before leaving for the south coast in a £11.5 million move in 2018.

The Welsh international has been frustrated by his lack of starts this term and the Cherries reluctantly agreed to his temporary exit.

“I want first-team football,” he said. “I've had a lot of time on the sidelines and I don't want it to continue.”

Brooks is the second Bournemouth man to switch to St Mary's Stadium in the transfer window, with midfielder Joe Rothwell having made his Southampton loan debut in the 1-1 FA Cup draw at Watford last Sunday.

The Saints, a top-flight outfit last term, are unbeaten in their last 22 games, a club-record sequence that began a week before their 1-1 draw with the Millers on October 8.

Leam Richardson, head coach of drop-zone Rotherham, said of today’s test: “In my opinion, Southampton are one of the best - if not the best - teams in the league. They have got excellent players, international players, all around the squad and they're been very well coached.

“Our focus is to give a really strong performance with what we have in the building. It's 11 v 11 come 3pm and we'll do our best. We've trained hard and we've added players to the group (in the transfer window). We need consistency and really good habits.”

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One to watch

Adam Armstrong is the Championship's joint-second-highest scorer this season, having bagged 14 goals in 28 league outings so far. The little striker has also made 11 assists, a figure which puts him at the top of the chart for the division. Now aged 26, he started out at Newcastle United and was a prolific scorer for Coventry City, on loan, and then Blackburn Rovers. Southampton, then in the Premier League, paid Rovers £15 million for his services in August 2021.

Form guide

Millers: WDDLLD

Soton: WDWWWD

The Saints fought back from a goal down in the FA Cup at Watford on Sunday when a late Armstrong equaliser earned a 1-1 draw.

Past meetings

Oct 7, 2023, Championship: Soton 1 Millers 1

Jordan Hugill

Sep 23, 2008, League Cup: Millers 3 Soton 1

Nick Fenton, Danny Harrison, Drewe Broughton

Jan 16, 2002, FA Cup: Millers 2 Soton 1

Richie Barker, John Mullins

Jan 30, 1984, League Cup: Millers 2 Soton 1

Bobby Mitchell, Mark Rhodes

Opposition bossRussell Martin was a centre-half in his playing days, spending eight years with Norwich City and winning 29 Scotland caps. The 38-year-old started out in management in 2019 with MK Dons and stepped up to the Championship when Swansea City came calling in 2021. He moved on to Southampton last summer and has led them into promotion contention in his first season at St Mary's Stadium.

Man in the middle

Last season, Sunny Singh Gill became the first British South Asian to referee an EFL fixture since his father, Jarnail Singh, more than a decade ago. He is in only his second year as a league ref. The Middlesex-based official’s most recent outing - Sheffield United's 5-2 FA Cup home loss to Brighton last Saturday - brought criticism from Blades boss Chris Wilder who described his performance as “really poor”.

The odds

​The bookies heavily favour Southampton, offering 2/7 on an away win and 7/1 on Rotherham taking all three points. The clubs have nine wins each in 22 contests since 1923.