Swansea City take on Luton Town at 3pm today (UK time) looking to show they have learned from Tuesdays performance where they let slip a two goal lead against Millwall. Luton are second bottom in the championship with Coventry City bottom, however the sky blues have only played two games due to their pitch being unplayable.
Going in to the championship later today a relieved Norwich City beat Millwall 2-0 last night in front of over 26,000 fans at Carrow Road. Table toppers Blackburn Rovers travel to Sheffield United in what looks like the game of the day, but look out for Sunderland and their army of fans at Stoke City as well.
Swansea City’s Joel Latibeaudiere is looking like he will be out until next year after being injured on Tuesday night. Despite rumours on his fitness Jamie Paterson is keen to play and faces a fitness test pre match. There’s no other injury news so the swans can expect to start with Michael Obafemi and Joel Piroe up front. Captain Matt Grimes is a dead cert to start and Swansea manager Russell Martin is hopeful Joe Allen will also be available despite coming off the pitch early on Tuesday night. Man of the match against Millwall, Ryan Manning is also fit but may have to revert to a different role dependent on Martin’s approach to this game. Speaking yesterday Manning is pleased with the way things are going this season. "This year, we’ve had a tough pre-season behind us, which should stand us in good stead as the season goes on. I think the first four or five games, we’ve shown a lot of positive things. The results haven’t been what we wanted, but if you compare it to this time last year, we’re in a much better place. There’s still plenty for us to work on and there’s a long way we can go as a group.”
Luton Town haven’t won this season but manager Nathan Jones isn’t too worried so early in the campaign. However, losing at Bristol City in midweek didn’t please him at all. "We have a lot of injuries and we have people that need bedding in and to learn what we do but we just didn’t defend well enough, we weren’t aggressive enough, we didn’t do the basics and for me, I thought we were really, really poor” Jones knows he has had some decent results against the swans in recent years, and last season led his in form team to a 1-0 victory at the swansea.com stadium. This after a stunning Swansea City come back after being 3-0 down to draw 3-3 at Kenilworth Road. Swans fans will remember that game for the racist abuse aimed at Swansea’s Liverpool loanee Rhys Williams, allegedly by a Luton Town supporter. It was investigated by Bedfordshire Police but nothing came from the inquiry.
Speaking after that incident Williams said "It really affected me,” he says. "I’d had it before with England when we played Mexico, but this was worse. It was directed straight at me and I could see the intention. I’m not going to use it as an excuse, but I didn’t feel in the right frame of mind to be on the pitch for a good few weeks after it. I don’t think playing helped me. Unless you’ve experienced it, I don’t think you understand. The worst thing is to be thrown back into the limelight, where everyone is coming up to you saying ‘It’ll be alright.' You just want to be left alone”
Rhys Williams playing for Swansea City last season
As a result of the lack of progress and support for Rhys from certain governing bodies Swansea City no longer take the knee at fixtures. Confirming this Russell Martin has made the clubs stance very clear. "They felt really let down by the way the Rhys Williams situation was handled last season. They feel they take the knee and make a stand, make a statement. To them, after that, it had very little meaning. The Rhys thing has fizzled out into absolutely nothing.There's been continued talks with Grimesy [Matt Grimes] and the rest of the players, with the PFA about what the protocol is and how it works. They think it's lost its impact. It's their decision and we totally support them on that. They are working to find their own way with the club and the foundation to make more of an impact than they do currently. I admire the stand they're taking. If the opposition do it, then they'll stand and clap. But they just feel that it doesn't have the impact it once did. They feel it's become something of a token gesture. We support them and we'll find our own way on making more of an impact”
The game between Swansea City and Luton Town kicks off at 3pm at the swansea.com stadium.