Season 20/21: The Official Swansea City v Reading Match Thread

[Official Site News]

MARC GUEHI | WE KNOW THIS IS A BIG GAME

Source: Swansea Official Site

Marc Guehi believes Swansea City’s clash with Reading could prove to be an important contest in the Championship promotion battle.

The Swans sit second in the table following their win at Queens Park Rangers on Boxing Day.

Reading, meanwhile, are sixth in the standings having beaten Luton 2-1 in their weekend fixtures.

The Royals had been the pacesetters during the opening weeks of the season, and they remain firmly in the promotion picture.

And defender Guehi is looking forward to the chance to face off against one of Swansea’s rivals in the upper reaches of the table.

“That’s going to be a big game; we know the task at hand,” he said.

“We can review the QPR game, find out where we can get better and move onto that game.

“They’re a team that’s in and around where we are, so I think it’s really important that we play them and beat them; that’s the main aim.

“Reading is our next focus and we’ll be ready for that one."

Guehi has helped the Swans rack up 12 clean sheets this season, including five in their last six games.

The centre-half has been part of a team effort that has seen Steve Cooper’s side concede just 12 goals in 21 games, and the on-loan Chelsea man is relishing his development in SA1.

I’m just enjoying it at the moment,” he added.

“Game by game, I’m taking everything in my stride. I’m not taking anything for granted.

“We’ve got a really good squad, so I must make sure I stay on top of my game.

“The boys challenging to get in the team are making it hard for me as well. I try to take every opportunity and I’m really enjoying the chance of getting that at Swansea.

“That’s credit to the team, credit to how we’re playing and the coaches we have; it’s credit to everyone."

 

[swansnews]

"We will always have the courage to aim for the win"

Source: Reading Official Site

Royals boss Veljko Paunovic looks ahead to the next challenge...an exceptionally tough one against high-flying Swansea City.

Swansea City have lost just once at home all season and edged their way into an automatic promotion place with a win at QPR on Boxing Day. But the Royals will go to the Liberty Stadium with confidence after a victory of their own at home to Luton at the weekend...

"We take it one game at a time. Recover, replenish, prepare again. It's another short turnaround - it's going to be like that all season. And this is a very tough game," admitted manager Veljko Paunovic.

"The win on Boxing Day will help us recover quicker and better. We will control what we can control, take a good look at their team - we know they play good football and that they are pretty good at home.

"So we know we are going to have a huge challenge on Wednesday night. But we always have courage going into these kind of games.

"And no matter what, we will put together a team which has the right mentality who will aspire to win the game.

"It's a tough stretch of games, but we will be ready. We're looking to take the confidence from the win on Saturday and we're looking to get a result.

"We always aim to win, we always prepare and get our guys ready for a hard match - like every game is in the Championship. But we will always look to be ourselves, look to attack and create opportunities and score goals."

The Royals won't have the luxury of making many changes and rotating to rest bodies ahead of the trip to South Wales with an injury list that remains a problem.

"We are never going to use excuses," Pauno said. "Just the facts. And the facts are that we have a lot of injuries.

"That impacts all the teams in the league, but it has affected us in key positions on the field and it affected our momentum and consistency.

"We have to start recovering players and soon I hope we can have some of the guys back - and that will help the team definitely.

"But on the positive side, it was a big, big success for the team to have John Swift back out there. And it was a big success for him too, to recover from a very tough injury.

"It's a long time he's been out. So I was very excited that we could give him the opportunity to step in, and he did very well against Luton.

"He looked to get on the ball, looked calm and held the ball well, picked up the second balls and earned us more ball possession, and looked to connect with the guys in front of him.

"And he affected the game positively. We're looking forward to seeing him build his fitness and to get some performances from him."

 

[swansnews]

https://twitter.com/swansnews/status/1344002631673516034

 

[Baron Goblet]

No

 

[Official Site News]

STEVE COOPER | WE ARE IN A GOOD PLACE

Source: Official Site

Steve Cooper says Swansea City are in a great place as they prepare to round off 2020 against Reading tonight (8pm).

The Swans host the Royals at the Liberty Stadium tonight as two of the Championship’s top six lock horns at the Liberty Stadium.

The hosts are second after their Boxing Day victory at QPR, while Reading were sixth before this midweek round of fixtures, following their win over Luton.

Much has changed at the Berkshire club since Swansea clinched a play-off place with a 4-1 success at the Madejski Stadium back in July.

And it’s a challenge head coach Cooper is relishing given the positive mood around the Swansea camp.

“They are on the back of a good win over Luton, who are a tough side to face, and I am sure they will be feeling good about themselves on the back of that,” said the Swansea boss.

“They are a good team, they have good technical players and athleticism. They have picked up a lot of points and good results to be in a good position.

“We respect that and see them for what they are, but we are in a great place too in terms of our momentum and mood.

“We need to make sure we really commit to the game by doing what we do. It’s a game to look forward to.

“We’ve come through a really busy period and had a little bit of time to be able to prepare for these three games over Christmas, and we cannot look any further ahead than this game.

“People might get bored of me saying to take one game at a time, but I genuinely believe this is the right way to look at it this season because of how unusual the schedule is.”

 

[swansnews]

Steve Cooper on the Liberty Pitch

"This is a high-profile league. It gets watched by millions and millions around the world," Cooper said.

"There are obviously massive prizes at stake and for the integrity of the league, you need to be playing on fair surfaces.

"The club in my opinion made a really positive decision to make a change and hopefully the rewards are there, both on the pitch and for the image of the football club.

"It's amazing what they have done in terms of getting it down as quick as they have

"Obviously we haven't played on it yet. Let's see how the game goes, but I am sure everyone's fairly confident that it's going to play well and hopefully it will.

"Fingers crossed for everybody, because everyone's trying to do the right thing, that it ends being a real positive step forward and it's a pitch worthy of the league we play in."

View attachment Pitch.jpg

 

[Magic_Michu]

After last night’s results what a game tonight is now!

We’ve got a huge chance to put some breathing space between us and 7th spot... and gain ground on Norwich and top spot.

Praying for a Brentford v Bournemouth draw in the early kick off too!

 

[PSumbler]

After last night’s results what a game tonight is now!

We’ve got a huge chance to put some breathing space between us and 7th spot... and gain ground on Norwich and top spot.

Praying for a Brentford v Bournemouth draw in the early kick off too!

That's the bit for me - add some serious gap to 7th place, closing in on Norwich is good at the same time

Watford, Brentford and Norwich all at the Liberty in the next 6 weeks - this is a massive period for the club especially when you factor in the transfer window as well

 

[Magic_Michu]

Just don’t get beat by any of those...

... would absolutely love to beat Brentford!

 

[Baron Goblet]

I do not rate managers highly, when I hear the word ....mentality.....does my goat, making a killing at a menial job

 

[Official Site News]

Download the matchday programme from this link

 

[swansnews]

Tonight's matchday mascots

Tonight's matchday mascots are Alfie Hopkins, Aged 7 from Swansea and Theo Gye, Aged 8 from Neath. Their favourite players are Connor Roberts and Andre Ayew respectively

View attachment Mascots.jpg

 

[westside]

Brentford/bournemouth ko 5.30 before us

 

[sainthelens]

All getting bit exciting now. First half of this season I've struggled to get into it ...no crowds etc, but with the possibility of fans coming in around spring time and us looking a decent bet to be right up there, I really wanna start the new year in a positive mind.
Keep it going lads.

 

[Swans Trust News]

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