Leeds United on a cold Wednesday night in November… what could possibly go wrong?

The Swans are in Yorkshire tonight to take on promotion chasing Leeds United with the stark reality that this season is turning more into a battle to keep our heads above water in the Championship rather than anything else.

A threadbare squad and a relatively average side was evident for all to see in the weekend draw with Hull that saw us throw away a two goal advantage gained thanks to a ten minute spell of strong football from the Swans.   Those that were at the Swansea.com stadium to witness the game would have not been surprised when Hull pegged us back in the second half and the fact that they had more than three times the number of shots on target during the game tells you much about the way the game played out.

You have to try and take some level of positive from the performance and that has to come in the two goals scored by the Swans which were sublime to watch and the result of some good football where the team attacked their opposition.   Sadly, all too often in the game, the mentality of the midfield to turn and pass backwards became more frequent and, as that frequency rose, the confidence of Hull increased.   There was only likely to be one outcome from that.

Tonight will be a very different battle as we head to a side widely tipped to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.   Relegation last season stung in the corridors of Elland Road and they will want to put that right straight away with the foundations strong as they look for three point that will keep the pressure up as much as they can on the current top two in Leicester and Ipswich.

With thirteen points secured from the last eighteen Leeds go into this game with confidence high against a Swans side that, despite a strong run before the second international break of the season have stuttered greatly since then with just five points won from the last six games.   All the form points to the fact that Leeds will secure another three points this evening and I am not sure you will find right now too many Swans fans who will disagree with that prediction.

We cling to some level of hope that the Championship is unpredictable and that form really means nothing when every side seems capable of beating each other but the Swans look vulnerable at the back every time the opposition attack and the reality is Leeds will be doing plenty of that tonight.   It doesn’t feel like a game where you can really believe the form book will be overturned.

It will be a reunion of course of old friends for the Swans with Leeds boasting in their ranks Joel Piroe, Dan James and Joe Rodon and all are expected to feature in the game this evening with each of them facing the Swans for the first time in their careers.   Whilst all three boosted the financial coffers of the Swans in the past few years nobody watching from the away end tonight will be able to not think about what could have been had we not found it necessary to cash in every summer on our prized assets.

The Swans could be without Harrison Ashby who was replaced early on on Saturday with a hamstring injury and, given Josh Key made an appearance on Saturday, I would expect him to replace Ashby in the right back place.   Whether Michael Duff brings back Charlie Patino we will wait to see but it does seem likely he will stick with the defensive look of his midfield meaning another start for Jay Fulton following his weekend appearance.

We have, of course, added Yannick Bolaise to the squad on a short term deal ahead of this fixture but a place on the bench is surely the most likely place for him although I do fully expect him to make some level of appearance during the game

Predicted line up: Rushworth, Key, Humphreys, Cabango, Tymon, Grimes, Fulton, Cooper, Lowe, Paterson, Yates

For Leeds Georgino Rutter is back to 100% fitness while skipper Liam Cooper is also fine after suffering with cramp in the Whites’ 1-1 draw with Rotherham United on Friday. Meanwhile, Sam Byram and Pascal Struijk are both fit and available, while Spurs loanee Djed Spence is training and could feature in the squad for this game.

Daniel Farke on Swansea: “I like them. In general, they have changed a bit, their style and approach under the new manager, but not in a bad way, not at all, I really like them and you can still see they are good in their passing quality and their possession, he has put some intensity in their game and counter-attacks.

“It’s a team with different threats and difficult to predict. They have many quality players for this level and we have to be respectful. We want to return to winning ways and for that, we need a good performance against a strong championship side.”

The game at Elland Road kicks off at 7.45pm.

Match Prediction: Leeds United 4-1 Swansea City.

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