Phil Sumbler
The Swans will this afternoon take on their biggest challenge of the season when Leicester City visit the Swansea.com Stadium looking to strengthen their position at the top of the Championship table.
The Foxes have made an impressive start to life back in the Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in May. Eleven games into the season they have a hugely impressive thirty points on the board and already find themselves ten points ahead of Preston who sit in third place.
They arrive here in South West Wales on the back of six straight league wins and will start the game as favourites to make that seven in a row but they do come up against a Swansea side who are very much in form themselves.
It seems an absolute age since the disappointment of defeat at Cardiff at the start of the last run of games following an international break. Since that low point the Swans have picked up thirteen points out of fifteen available and we go into the game on the back of four straight wins which included three in a week prior to the international break.
This fixture therefore is one of the most intriguing match ups of the weekend with two of the division’s form teams pitted against each other. Whilst Leicester do appear to be pushing towards that promotion back to the top flight we should not forget our excellent run of form and we should be heading into the game with a degree of confidence.
As Michael Duff said ahead of the game “We will have to be at our best, but there is no apprehension from our side. We will go out there intent on trying to win the game.”
Michael Duff confirmed earlier in the week that Kristian Pedersen was back fit and available for selection whilst the Swans will make a late decision on the fitness of Welsh international Ben Cabango. That said even if Cabango is fit then it is difficult to see why Duff would change the side that lined up against Plymouth despite the two week break between the two games.
Predicted Swans line-up: Rushworth, Key, Darling, Humphreys, Tymon, Patino, Grimes, Paterson, Cullen, Lowe, Yates.
It does promise to be close to a capacity crowd at the Swansea.com this afternoon with the visitors being the latest to sell out their full allocation for their visit to SA1. And it is that crowd that Duff wants to get behind the team as they go in search of that all important fifth win on the bounce.
“We want to get on the front foot, and you can be a big part of helping us with that because we have seen how our team and supporters feed off each other’s energy and the stadium has been rocking.”
Leicester have no new injury worries as reported earlier in the week with manager Enzo Maresca adding on Friday “Kasey [McAteer] and Tom [Cannon] are already on the pitch but not with us,” Maresca revealed to the media in his pre-match press conference. “It’s nice to see them out there. Dennis [Praet] is not yet on the pitch.”
The rest of the squad, however, remain fit and ready for action in south Wales, as the Foxes look to continue a run of six straight league victories.
“No, there’s no injuries,” the Italian added. “Fortunately, we have no injuries. All of them are fit and ready for tomorrow.”
You can keep your discussion on the match alive with our matchday thread courtesy of forum legend jackharris who provides an in depth view ahead of the match as the supporters keep the discussion alive before, during and after the match. Check out that thread here
There is little doubt that this game is the biggest test of Michael Duff’s reign to date but, as referenced earlier, we should go into this game with optimism high and certainly, as Duff said, if we can as supporters get behind the team then anything is possible.
Match Prediction: Swansea City 2-1 Leicester City.
It does look like the toughest game yet.They have quality and they have pace .
Although we are on a good run it is early days in our development.
We have looked good over the last few weeks .I just hope that if things go pear- shaped today that people don’t get on Duff’s back and show a bit of patience