He says Birmingham City will walk League One ... but Rotherham United boss Steve Evans isn't scared of a trip to St Andrew's

The big-spending Blues are already in top spot and have lost only twice all season in the third tier, but that isn't affecting the Millers boss's belief that his men are capable of picking up a result at St Andrew's.

"We approach the game with great care but no fear," he said. "Birmingham have a squad that, for me, will grace the Championship and do very well.

"I repeat what I said in August: I think they'll win the league by ten or 12 points. It doesn't mean that three of those points have to come against us on Saturday."

Evans has a good record at City, having won on both of his last two visits there, with Rotherham in the 2014/15 campaign and Leeds United the following year.

"A lot of League One managers have described it to me as 'a free hit' when you go to St Andrew's," he said. "That's almost what it feels like.

"Nobody outside of your staff, your players and maybe some of your supporters think you can go there and get something. I love going to St Andrew's."

The Millers, who have been one of the division's form teams in January, are seeking to cut a four-point gap to the top 10.

With a crowd of more than 30,000 expected, Evans is hoping man in the middle Farai Hallam and his team of officials are up to the occasion.

"We just want a strong referee," Evans said. "That's important because it's intimidating there."

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ONE TO WATCH

£15-million man Jay Stansfield has hit 15 goals in 25 appearances for Birmingham City since his big-money move from Fulham. Under new American ownership, the Blues are the biggest spenders in League One and they made the striker, who turned 22 in November, their marquee summer signing. Stansfield had previously had a successful loan spell at St Andrew's.

FORM GUIDE

Birmingham: WWWWDW

Millers: DWWWLW

Birmingham drew 1-1 at promotion rivals Wrexham last Thursday before Tuesday night's 1-0 triumph at Huddersfield Town.

PAST MEETINGS

Sep 21 2024, League One: Millers 0 Birmingham 2

Apr 20 2024, Championship: Millers 0 Birmingham 0

Dec 2 2023, Championship: Birmingham 0 Millers 0

Mar 11 2023, Championship: Birmingham 2 Millers 0

Aug 27 2022, Championship: Millers 2 Birmingham 0

Richard Wood 2

Apr 18 2021, Championship: Millers 0 Birmingham 1

Sep 26, 2020, Championship: Birmingham 1 Millers 1

Kieran Sadlier pen

OPPOSITION BOSS

Chris Davies left a coaching role at Spurs to become boss of Birmingham in June and has taken the club to the top of League One. The 39-year-old’s playing career ended when he was a teenager at Reading because of an arthritic condition in his foot. He worked in coaching or analysis at Swansea City, Liverpool and Reading and was assistant manager under Brendan Rogers at Celtic and Leicester City until his move to Spurs in 2023.

MAN IN THE MIDDLE

Surrey-born Farai Hallam has been an EFL referee since 2023 but this is his first season consistently taking charge of matches and he has never been involved in a Millers game before. His day job sees him based at Wembley Stadium, where he is the FA's senior referee officer, helping to identify officials with the potential to progress through the pyramid. As a youngster, he was a promising player and was on the books of Stevenage for a while.

THE ODDS

The bookies are offering a home win at 1/2 and a Rotherham victory at 11/2. A draw is 31/10. In 44 contests between the clubs since 1919, Rotherham have seven wins and Birmingham 23.