Matt WilliamsFollowing the draw at QPR on Tuesday, Swansea are back on the road this weekend as they face Hull City. This is the second meeting between the two sides this season. They last met in September, in a 0-0 draw at the Swansea.com Stadium. For more on Hull City, be sure to check out my preview ahead of the previous meeting.
Hull find themselves in 19th place, three points worse off than Swansea despite playing two more games. Swansea have 32 points from 25 games, with three games in hand over several teams around them.
Their January transfer window so far
Unlike Swansea who have brought in the likes of Hannes Wolf, Hull have had a quiet window. Their only incoming transfer so far is Regan Slater, who joined from Sheffield United. The 22-year-old midfielder returned to Hull after spent last season on loan at the club. He scored once in his 27 Championship outings.
As for outgoings, Hull sold Josh Magennis to Wigan Athletic for an undisclosed fee. The 31-year-old striker had spent three years at Hull following a move from Bolton, scoring 24 in 88 league games. Magennis has represented Northern Ireland on 63 occasions, picking up eight goals.
However, with Hull’s recent takeover, more signings could be on their way before the window closes next week.
Their captain
Wearing the armband currently for Hull is Richard Smallwood. The 31-year-old holding midfielder arrived at the club in 2020 and has been a key figure since.
His playing career began at Middlesbrough, where he captained the reserve team before making made 60 senior league appearances in a four year spell. He joined Rotherham on loan in 2014, helping them win promotion to the Championship. He completed a permanent move soon after.
While at Rotherham, Smallwood featured in over 125 league games, including 43/46 in the 2015-16 season. However, he joined League One side Scunthorpe on loan midway through the 2016-17 campaign, in what would be his final as a Rotherham player.
Following a successful loan spell at Scunthorpe, Smallwood remained in League One as he joined Blackburn Rovers. The once-Premier League champions found themselves in the third tier but made a quick return to the Championship with Smallwood playing a vital role. He featured in all 46 League One games that season, scoring twice.
He remained in the first team upon Blackburn’s return to the second tier but lost his place in the squad in his third season. He then joined Hull City, signing a two-year deal in August 2020. He was named captain shortly after. Once again, Smallwood was part of a team that achieved promotion, as Hull rose back to the Championship in his first season at the club, winning the League One title in the process.
Smallwood has featured in 24 Championship games this season.
Their manager
The last time the two sides met, Hull were managed by Grant McCann. However, following the recent takeover, The Tigers have a new man at the helm.
They announced on Thursday that Shota Arveladze had been appointed. The former Georgia international looks set to manage his first game in English football this weekend.
A prolific striker throughout his career, Arveladze started off in his native Georgia, playing for Dinamo Tbilisi and Martve Tbilisi. He enjoyed prolific spells at both clubs, scoring 33 in 30 at Martve and 51 in 67 at Dinamo.
He enjoyed great success at Dinamo Tbilisi, with his goals leading them to four successive league and cup doubles.
He left Georgia in 1993, joining Trabzonspor on loan. After scoring 15 in 18 games, he joined the Turkish club on a permanent deal. He helped them win the Turkish Cup and Turkish Super Cup in 1995. Arveladze scored 46 in 76 games, which earnt him a move to Dutch giants Ajax.
Arveladze got off to a flying start in the Netherlands. He scored 25 goals in his debut season, securing Ajax a league and cup double. They retained the cup the following season but finished sixth in the league.
He later joined Rangers where he won two Scottish Premier League titles, two Scottish Cups and one Scottish League Cup. After four seasons in Scotland, the Georgian striker returned to the Eredivisie.
However, instead of joining Ajax, he moved to AZ Alkmaar. Despite being near the end of his playing career, he still enjoyed two prolific seasons with the Dutch club, before a brief spell at Levante in Spain.
Arveladze became a Georgian legend as a player, scoring 26 in his 61 caps. He remains the all-time top scorer for his national side.
Following his retirement, Arveladze was appointed as assistant manager of AZ, returning to the club after a brief absence. He spent two years in the job, serving under Louis van Gaal, Ronald Koeman and Dick Advocaat.
His first taste of senior management came in 2010 when he was appointed as manager of Kayserispor. He managed the Turkish side for more than two years, before joining Kasimpasa in October 2012. He took over his third Turkish club in 2015, receiving the Trabzonspor job, although he spent less than a year in charge.
In June 2016, he took over at Maccabi Tel Aviv. This was yet another brief stint as he was sacked midway through the 2016-17 campaign.
After unsuccessful spells in Turkey and Cyprus, Arveladze moved to Uzbekistan. There, he managed Pakhtakor Tashkent, winning back-to-back Uzbekistan Super League titles, as well as three cup competitions over a two-year spell. He left the club in December 2020 and has remained without a job until Hull appointed him yesterday.
Previous meeting
As mentioned above, Swansea hosted Hull back in September. The Swans came into the game looking for their first home win of the season, having only recently picked up their first win at Bristol City.
Hull, meanwhile, were level on points with Swansea. Both sides had four points from their opening five games.
After a few shaky performances from Steven Benda, Swans boss Russell Martin handed Ben Hamer his first league start for the club. It proved to be a quiet introduction for Hamer, who was not forced to make a save until the final minute.
Swansea controlled possession with 69% of the ball but were unable to find a breakthrough. Despite registering 16 shots to Hull’s four, the game finished all square.
Final score – Swansea City 0-0 Hull City
Match preview
Swansea will have to manage without Flynn Downes this weekend, after the midfielder picked up two yellow cards in the midweek draw at QPR. He will be sorely missed for Swansea, who have kept back-to-back clean sheets with him in holding midfield.
Jamie Paterson looks set to miss the game, although Martin hopes to get him back next week. Elsewhere, Michael Obafemi could be preferred to Joel Piroe, after he was inches away from scoring at QPR. Also, Olivier Ntcham should be back after missing the previous game.
Expect a tricky game, with Hull fans and players likely buoyed by their new owners and manager. Hull’s last game was a shock 1-0 win at promotion-chasing Bournemouth last weekend, a result which will give them plenty of confidence.
After this weekend’s outing, Swansea are back at home on Tuesday. With hopefully a few more signings, The Swans host Luton Town. Be sure to check back on Planet Swans for the preview to that game.
