Matt WilliamsAfter a dominant performance at Huddersfield resulted in just a draw, Swansea are back at home this weekend as they welcome Preston to South Wales. The Swans lost in the reverse fixture back in August, albeit away from home. With fans finally back at the Swansea.com Stadium, they will be keen to return the favour.
The visitors find themselves in 14th place with 33 points. Preston are five points better off than Swansea, although they have played two more games.
Their January transfer window so far
While Swansea have already welcomed three new signings, Preston are yet to bring anyone in so far this month.
They have loaned out four players, with Jordan Storey, Adam O’Reilly, Lewis Coulton and Jacob-Holland Wilkinson all departing. Storey joined Sheffield Wednesday, while O’Reilly returned to his native Ireland. The latter two joined lower league sides Warrington Town and Bamber Bridge respectively.
Preston’s only permanent outgoing saw Connor Wickham join Russell Martin’s former side MK Dons on a free transfer. Wickham only arrived in Preston back in September.
Their top scorer
With nine goals so far this season, Emil Riis Jakobsen has been a key player for Preston. The 23-year-old Danish striker has found his footing after a tough debut campaign in 2020-21.
He began his career at Randers in Denmark, first joining their youth academy at the age of 14. After a productive spell in the youth league, Riis Jakobsen moved to England in 2015, joining Derby County. However, he failed to make an appearance for the first team. He joined VVV-Venlo on loan in January 2018 and made three Eredivisie appearances for the Dutch side.
In June 2018, Riis Jakobsen returned to Randers. He scored four in 25 Danish Superliga outings in 2018-19, before doubling that total a year later, scoring eight in 31 games. This would prove to be his final full season at the club, as he joined Preston in October 2020 for an undisclosed fee.
He scored just twice in 38 Championship appearances last season, but his second campaign has already been significantly more productive. He finds himself just one goal away from double figures, still with almost half of the season still to play.
Riis Jakobsen has also represented his country at various youth levels, with 16 appearances at Under-16 to Under-21 level.
Their manager
In the previous piece on Preston, we looked at Frankie McAvoy. However, the Scotsman departed the club in December. He was swiftly replaced by Ryan Lowe, who is experiencing his first taste of Championship football this season.
The 43-year-old Liverpudlian spent his playing career as a striker in the lower leagues. He began his playing career at Shrewsbury Town, making 30 appearances in the Third Division (now League Two) in his debut campaign. His 11 goals in 2002-03 were not enough to keep Shrewsbury in the Football League, as they slipped down to the Conference.
However, his nine goals in 36 Conference outings helped guide them back to League Two at the first time of asking. He remained at the club for one more year, bagging nine in 38 appearances in the fourth tier.
He joined Chester City in March 2005, where he scored 14 in 40 appearances. Although his contract was mutually terminated in 2006, Lowe moved up to League One when he joined Crewe Alexandra. He spent two seasons at Crewe, scoring 12 in 64 League One games. He also had a brief loan spell at Stockport County at the end of the 2007-08 campaign.
In July 2008, Lowe returned for his second spell at Chester City. After a productive season which saw him miss just one league game, scoring 16 in the process, he joined fellow League Two side Bury.
Lowe proved to be a highly prolific striker in his two-year spell at Bury. After scoring 18 in 39 in his debut season, he scored a career-high 27 league goals in 2010-11, featuring in all 46 games. His work up-front saw Bury finish second, achieving automatic promotion to League One.
After continuing his prolific form in the early stages of the 2011-12 season, Lowe departed for Sheffield Wednesday, who also found themselves in the third tier. However, he spent just one season at the club, despite arriving for a six figure fee.
He joined MK Dons, where he once again spent just one year. He followed that with one season at Tranmere, where he scored 19 in 45 games. Despite his excellent goal record, Tranmere were relegated to League Two. Lowe left the club to return to Bury.
Lowe’s second spell at Bury was less prolific than the first, but he was able to win promotion with the side upon his return. After making 19 appearances in 2015-16, he moved back to Crewe for a second spell, before returning to Bury for a third time a year later.
After enjoying a journey-man career, he briefly served as caretaker manager of Bury between 30th October 2017 and 22 November 2017. Less than two months after stepping down from his caretaker role, Lowe was awarded the full-time job. He guided Bury to promotion from League Two, finishing second.
Unfortunately, Bury were soon expelled from the Football League due to longstanding financial issues. By this point, Lowe had already departed, joining Plymouth Argyle in League Two. A year after achieving promotion with Bury, Lowe did the same with Plymouth, securing automatic promotion.
Last season, Lowe’s Plymouth finished 18th in League One. He remained in charge until December 2021, when he resigned to take the Preston job. Since his arrival, Preston have picked up eight points from a possible 12, winning twice and drawing twice. They were however knocked out of the FA Cup by Cardiff City.
Previous meeting
The Swans will be hoping for a different outcome this time out, after suffering defeat when these sides last met.
On 28th August, Swansea travelled to Preston, looking for back-to-back away wins. They had just beaten Bristol City 1-0 at Ashton Gate, thanks to a well-placed finish from Joel Piroe.
It was Swansea who took the lead, as Joel Piroe made it three in three games. However, the lead lasted just two minutes. On-loan defender Sepp van den Berg equalised for the hosts. This was the Dutchman’s first senior goal.
In the dying stages of the first half, the aforementioned talisman Riis Jakobsen put the hosts in front. They doubled their advantage in the 52nd minute through Ben Whiteman as Preston secured their second win of the season.
Final score – Preston North End 3-1 Swansea City
Match Preview
It has been a busy week for The Swans, with arrivals, departures and controversy aplenty.
Swansea welcomed the highly-rated attacking midfielder Hannes Wolf on loan on Thursday. The 22-year-old Austrian joined from Borussia Monchengladbach until the end of the season, after struggling to find a place in the Bundesliga side.
As for outgoings, Jake Bidwell departed on a free transfer, joining Coventry. The wing-back had six months left on his deal. Elsewhere, Rhys Williams was recalled by Liverpool after a disappointing campaign. The young defender was unable to find form while at Swansea, making just seven appearances.
The week was also marred with an issue involving Jamie Paterson. Although he has been excellent for Swansea this season, Paterson could be on his way out after less than six months. After Swansea triggered an extension in his contract, Paterson was not in the right frame of mind to play last weekend, as is yet to return to full training with the senior squad. It is unclear whether the situation will be resolved, with Swansea said to be willing to listen to offers for the 30-year-old.
As for injury news, it appears that only Paterson will miss out this weekend. Russell Martin could hand a debut to Hannes Wolf, although any involvement will likely come from the bench. Meanwhile, Preston will be without Izzy Brown and Declan Rudd, but could have a fully fit squad otherwise.
Expect a tricky game this weekend, with Preston in good form following Lowe’s appointment. Swansea had 70% of the possession against Huddersfield, but were unable to turn that dominance into goals. They simply must be more clinical this weekend.
After this weekend, Swansea are back on the road on Tuesday. They travel to Queens Park Rangers, while Preston visit West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday.
