Meet the opposition | Blackburn Rovers
As Swansea City prepare to head to Ewood Park to take on Blackburn, we take a closer look at Rovers.
WHAT'S THEIR STORY?
Established in 1875, Blackburn Rovers are three-time English champions and six-time FA Cup winners. Their most recent success came in the 1994-1995 season where under manager Kenny Daglish they won the Premier League, ending a 67-year wait for a major trophy.
After spending 19 years in the Premier League, they did drop to League One but established themselves in the Championship over recent years under the management of Tony Mowbray.
Rovers have been among the contenders for a play-off place in each of the last two seasons, only to miss out over the closing stages of those campaigns.
HOW'S THEIR FORM?
Blackburn's form has been a case of feast or famine, with the Lancashire club drawing just one of their opening 13 Championship games.
That had made for an inconsistent start to the campaign, but they have enjoyed a fine recent run of three wins in a row prior to this weekend’s fixture.
WHO'S THE GAFFER?
Ex-Newcastle striker Jon Dahl Tomasson came in as head coach ahead of the 2022-23 season, replacing Tony Mowbray who departed after six years in charge, and came so close to steering Blackburn to a play-off place.
As a player, Tomasson made 450 league appearances, scoring 180 goals, for some of Europe's top clubs in Germany, Holland, Italy and Spain, including Feyenoord and AC Milan. He scored 52 goals in 112 caps for Denmark, featuring in three major tournaments.
Tomasson was assistant coach for the national team's Euro 2020 campaign, and most recently enjoyed success with Malmo, who he led to back-to-back Allsvenskan titles.
WHO'S THE CAPTAIN?
Midfielder Lewis Travis took over the club captaincy when Darragh Lenihan departed for Middlesbrough in the summer of 2022, having previously been vice-captain to the Irishman,
A Liverpool and Rovers academy product, Travis has been a mainstay in the midfield since being promoted to the senior side by Tony Mowbray in 2017.
He fell out of favour during the middle part of last season, but returned strongly.
However, he has not been a regular starter this term, with defender Dominic Hyam taking the armband in his absence.
The Scotland international started his career with Reading, and had loan spells with Hemel Hempstead, Basingstoke Town, Dagenham & Redbridge, Portsmouth and Aldershot during his time with the Royals.
He joined Coventry in 2017, and helped the Sky Blues climb back to the second tier before joining Rovers in 2022.
WHO ARE THE KEY MEN?
Samme Szmodics is top of the goalscoring charts for Rovers with seven goals so far this season, with the ex-Peterborough man also weighing in with two assists in his 13 appearances in all competitions.
Szmodics, who has been called up at senior level by the Republic of Ireland without being capped, has 12 goals in 45 league outings for Blackburn having caught the eye during a two-year stint with Post.
The Colchester-born attacking midfielder started his career with his hometown team, and made nearly 150 league appearances for them before a shortlived spell with Bristol City.
Talented playmaker Tyrhys Dolan is another attacking threat for the Lancashire club.
The forward spent time with Manchester City, Burnley and Preston in their academy ranks but did not make a first-team appearance for any of those clubs.
However, he has got plenty of gametime under his belt since joining Blackburn in 2020, racking up 15 goals in 137 appearances.
Dolan has the guile and pace to take defenders on, while also having an eye for goal or a defence-splitting pass.
Icelandic midfielder Arnor Sigurdsson is on loan from CSKA Moscow at Ewood Park, and he has hit the ground running with four goals to his name from just six appearances.
Starting his career in his homeland with IA Akranes, he moved to Sweden with Norrkoping where he netted 14 goals in 47 league appearances to attract the attention of Russian giants CSKA.
He was a regular over the opening seasons of his time there - having signed in 2018 - but spent last term on loan with Venezia in Italy before getting his move to the Championship.