Preview | Middlesbrough v Swansea City

Swansea City will look to record back-to-back wins on their travels when they take on Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium this afternoon (3pm).

The Swans have won on three of their eight visits to the RIverside, last winning there in the first fixture following the enforced break in the 2019-20 season owing to the pandemic.

Russell Martin will be looking to see his side back up their win at Blackpool in their last away game, and bounce back from the disappointment of defeat to Luton last time out.

Boro, meanwhile, are searching for their first victory over the season having taken three draws from their first five games.

TEAM NEWS

Kyle Naughton is fit and in contention for a start following an ankle injury which saw him start the Luton Town match on the bench, while Jamie Paterson is still being assessed and is a doubt for Saturday's trip to the north east.

Liam Walsh (Achilles) and Joel Latibeaudiere (shoulder) are long-term absentees for the Swans.

PRE-MATCH VIEWS

Russell Martin:

“I think we had the youngest team in the Championship on Saturday and young players need help and support to develop, because they will have moments where they make mistakes.

“That is what being a young player is about, it’s down to us to help them deal with those moments and develop quickly.

“We do an analysis on every group five games, on the opposition, ourselves and where we are. We’re really not far away, it’s just been key moments. We’re not far away in terms of the big picture."

Chris Wilder:

"Everybody knows we’re light and I think people know we need additions. We knew we might have to be patient and wait, which we have been.

"Has that affected results? I 100 per cent believe it has. Will we get the results we’re all after once the window shuts, we have what we want and the team can then settle down and we’re at our strongest? I believe 100 per cent we will.

"So we have to take the pain right now, and we’ve put undue pressure on ourselves because we should have got a win long before now. But we have to take that on the chin, look at ourselves and appreciate we’ve made mistakes that have cost us.”

REMEMBER THE LAST TIME?

Swansea City were left to rue missed chances and being denied a penalty as Isaiah Jones’ first-half strike gave Middlesbrough the spoils at the Riverside Stadium.

Jones raced clear after being left in too much space to score what proved to be the winner in the 26th minute.

But the visitors had more than enough opportunities to take something from the game, with Jamie Paterson, Matt Grimes and Joel Piroe going closest, with the latter denied by a goal-line clearance from Paddy McNair.

The Swans felt they should also have had a penalty after Boro keeper Luke Daniels appeared to bring down Paterson on the stroke of half-time, only for the referee to award a free-kick against the Swansea man.

PRIME NUMBERS

11 - Swansea are unbeaten in 11 of their last 14 games against Middlesbrough. However, those three defeats have all come on Teesside, courtesy of losses in 2016, 2020 and 2021.

13.6 - Swansea are averaging 13.6 shots per game in the Championship so far this season. That's the fifth-highest figure behind only Norwich, West Brom, Sheffield United and Preston North End.