Huddersfield v Swans: The big talking points
Swansea City face another key fixture in their fight for Premier League survival when they go to Huddersfield Town this weekend.
Here are all the key talking points heading into the big game.
Managers’ duel
Carlos Carvalhal has done rather well in his previous league encounters with Huddersfield boss David Wagner.
Wagner’s first game in English football was against Carvalhal’s Sheffield Wednesday in November 2015, and the Owls won 3-1.
Carvalhal’s team also beat Huddersfield in the return fixture that season, then again in both Championship meetings last term.
However, Wagner had the last laugh as Huddersfield met Wednesday once again in the play-off semi-finals last May.
Both games ended in draws, but it was the Terriers who progressed to Wembley – and ultimately the Premier League – after a penalty shootout.
Double delight?
The Swans are yet to do the double over any team in the Premier League this season, and they are running out of opportunities to change that record.
In fact, there are only two chances left – when they go to West Brom in a month and at the John Smith’s Stadium this weekend.
Tammy Abraham scored twice as Huddersfield were beaten by the Swans back in October, with Wagner admitting his team could have no complaints about the defeat.
Something similar tomorrow would be most welcome.
Sizzling siblings
Jordan Ayew scored his 10th goal of the season in last weekend’s victory over West Ham, while big brother Andre was arguably the Swans’ man of the match even though he did not get on the scoresheet himself.
The Ayews were scintillating against the Hammers, driving Carvalhal’s team on to a rousing win with their blend of energy and quality in the final third.
If the duo can reproduce that sort of form on a consistent basis from here on in, the Swans should pull clear of the relegation zone.
Remember the last time?
You could be forgiven for forgetting, for it has been a while since the Swans made the trip to Huddersfield.
It was 10 years ago last week, in fact, that they last headed north to West Yorkshire.
The Swans have not had a great deal of success at Huddersfield down the years, but their 2008 visit ended in a 1-0 victory courtesy of Jason Scotland’s goal.
A couple of months later, the Swans were celebrating promotion to League One.
This time around, they hope a positive result will edge them closer to a great escape.
Forward thinking
In 20 league games this season before Carvalhal took charge at the end of December, the Swans scored a meagre 11 goals – and were shut out on no fewer than 11 occasions.
Yet in their nine top-flight outings under the Portuguese, the Swans have found the target 14 times – and have only failed to score once, against Spurs in early January.
Carvalhal has changed the shape of the team and asked more players to get forward more often, and so far it has worked.
He will hope for more of the same this weekend.
