Rob Davies
The Swans head to Birmingham City to take on a resurgent Blues team with former target John Eustace at the helm.
Russell Martin will be desperate to put right a three game winless run but will come against a tough Birmingham team aiming to go above the Swans and closer to the play offs this evening.
The Blues have invested well this summer and brought in some star quality from Manchester United in the shape of Hannibal Mejbri and Tahith Chong with Eustace earning huge praise for the improvement in their form since his arrival in the summer.
For us the focus will be more on how his opposite number will shape his team this evening with it looking unlikely that Armstrong Oko-Flex will start from the beginning this time out.
The winger was hauled off at half time with the Swans losing 2-1 at home to Wigan with Martin making it clear that the player knew the reasons for his abrupt withdrawal.
Indeed it’s not the first time he’s been unceremoniously taken off as he was withdrawn after coming on as a substitute against Reading last month.
There are other headaches for Martin both in defence and attack – the midfield names itself with Matt Grimes returning – with Harry Darling pushing to return along with Kyle Naughton and question marks over the suitability of Joel Piroe and Michael Obafemi up front.
Piroe perhaps had his best game of the season on Saturday, at least from my view, and he looked much sharper both in passing and shooting. His effort at the start of the second half was a good reminder of what he is capable of and required a top save from Jamie Jones in the Latics’ goal.
So much to ponder for the Swans boss and perhaps he will be keener than anyone to see a bounce back both in terms of result and performance in the second city this evening.
Win (or at least avoid defeat) and smiles all round ahead of the final game against Huddersfield on Saturday before the World Cup break, perhaps even returning to the play-off places too.
The manager’s time at the club has offered much promise only for good runs of form to be followed by poor results. Lose tonight and the highs of a few weeks ago will be very much forgotten. It’s over to you Russell.
