This afternoons game at Huddersfield Town is the first league action the swans have seen since December 11th, and indeed the first time since then Swansea City fans have had an opportunity to watch their side in the flesh.
It seems the swans will be without Jamie Paterson today as a big question mark hangs over the future of Rhys Williams at Swansea City. His inclusion or otherwise will answer a lot of questions on the Liverpool loanee today. That is if he has travelled ? Other than that it’s a toss up between Ben Hamer and Andy Fisher between the posts, Kyle Naughton is fit as is Cyrus Christie, so Russell Martin has a few from Joël Latibeaudiere, Ryan Bennett, Ryan Manning, Ben Cabango and Brandon Cooper to choose from. The defensive weaknesses are there for all to see with Jake Bidwell not expected to play after falling out of favour in recent weeks. He is also rumoured to be In the final stages of a transfer away from the swans.
As has been stated Jay Fulton isn’t in Martin’s plans despite a brief appearance in the FA Cup last week due to illnesses within the squad. It’s likely Joel Piroe and Michael Obafemi will start, the latter not really impressing against the saints last week. In a compact midfield swans fans will want to see Flynn Downes and Olivier Ntcham included from the start. Unfortunately Jamie Paterson isn’t available for selection.
It’s a trimmed down squad for sure, and despite the noises from within the club there seems to be a lot more work to do on the transfer front. Last seasons trip to Huddersfield was possibly the worst swans performance of the season in a 4-1 loss behind closed doors. All this despite a Conor Hourihane blinder. The lack of effort shown that day all round must not be repeated today. It is a much changed side and then manager Steve Cooper looked shell shocked after the game.
Huddersfield are on a winning streak, and Swansea City are not. However the tide has to turn at some point. Martin remains confident and is very much aware of the terriers qualities "They’ve been great, they’ve done really well. The benefit of giving the manager time. He had a tough season last season. You see it a lot. Change can be really messy. But they’ve come through that and they’ve recruited well with players who fit his system and style of play. They’ve got a couple of outstanding players who have been at a really good level in Lewis O’Brien and Sorba Thomas. They’ve had a lot of time together as a group and they’re benefiting from that, and I’ve got no doubt that eventually we’ll be the same."
The championship to some today is displaying a few false positions as certain clubs have played four more games than others. Huddersfield are a point in case going in to today’s game in sixth position in the league. They have played 26 games to Swansea City’s 22. The swans occupy 17th place and will want to avoid defeat today. The terriers are clear favourites but the swans have to start somewhere after such a long time away from league action.
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More later as we build up to today’s game.