Planet Swans ArchivesThe Swansea City midfielder though will be forced to watch from the sidelines as he picked up his 5th booking of the season at Crystal Palace on Saturday meaning a one match ban ahead of the fixture.
But he insists that Cardiff’s two point lead at the top of the division offers nothing to fear for the 3rd placed Swans.
Looking ahead to the game, Pratley told the Western Mail “I’m devastated because it’s a game I enjoy playing in.
“That’s the game you want to play in, it’s the first one I look for at the start of the season.
“I’m disappointed. It was my second tackle, the first one I got the ball and with the one for the booking I touched a little of the ball. The referee could have been a bit more lenient
“I’ve had two games when I have been on four bookings but I can’t go around not trying to make tackles because I’m a midfielder and that’s what I have to do.
“The great thing about us is that we are not a one-man team, if I am out or anyone else is out we’ve got good players to come in and do as good a job.
“We’ve got nothing to fear. It’s a derby game so even if we had been losing every week, that all goes out the window.
“It’s one the boys look forward to because we know what it means to the fans.
“Last time it was about me and Bothroyd, him making comments and then me responding.
“Now we are both out of the game and I am sure he will be as disappointed as I am.
“They’ve got a lot of players we need to be wary of.
“It will be a good game, it always is. They’ve got some good players, we’ve got good players and both sides are in good form.
“I watched Cardiff play Leeds when I was in my hotel room at Wigan, I was running a bath and they put about 100 passes together and I flooded my room.
“Their passing made me stop and watch.”
