Preview | Swansea City v Coventry City
Swansea City will look to continue their unbeaten start to the season on home soils when they welcome Coventry City to the Swansea.com Stadium this afternoon.
The Swans return to SA1 looking to bounce back from defeat at West Bromwich Albion last time out, as a late fightback was not enough to prevent a 3-2 defeat at The Hawthorns.
Michael Duff's side have a draw and a win under their belts in their own backyard courtesy of a draw against Birmingham City and the Carabao Cup win over Northampton Town.
They face a Sky Blues side who responded to league and cup defeats with an impressive 3-0 victory over Middlesbrough - who they also beat in last season's play-offs - last time out.
TEAM NEWS
Swans boss Duff has no new injury concerns ahead of this fixture, with Liam Walsh and Steven Benda the only players currently sidelined.
But the head coach will weighh up whether to make changes having been unhappy with the lack of intensity and purpose his side played with for much of defeat at West Brom.
New signing Charlie Patino made an impression off the bench, while the likes of Liam Cullen will be hoping to force their way into the starting XI.
PRE-MATCH VIEWS
Michael Duff: “The reaction from the players has been positive, we have worked on things we feel we need to improve on.
“A lot has been on the in-possession side of things but, of course, there has to be a balance because you can’t just work on one part of the game.
“It’s just about getting that clarity in what we want. I am not one for having 70 per cent of the ball in your own half, but I’m also not one for just booting it upfield.
“I want us to play through teams, that is what we have worked on, whether it comes off we will see but it is something we are trying to adapt.
“It’s not like we have the players to get it at the back and smash it forward, that’s not the profile of the players we have got.
“So, it’s about finding that balance of keeping the ball, but keeping the ball and playing with purpose.
“We don’t want to keep the ball for the sake of keeping the ball, and in the first half last weekend I felt it was too slow and too safe.
“We had a lot of ball but I don’t remember us creating a chance, outside of a set-play, so it’s about finding that bit of zip in our play."
Mark Robins:
“They are a little bit different, but they’ve still got the bulk of the same players.
“They brought in Jerry Yates and one or two other players in fairness, but they brought in Jerry Yates, who, who will fight and scrap and try and run in behind, and Joel Piroe still there and, you know, for me, he's one of the top players in the division, so they've done well to hold on to him.
“They've got some talent throughout. Matt Grimes is a really good player from the deep position in midfield and they've got some good players who know this system really well.
“They will change and can flip to a different formation. They went to a back four last season and they've done similarly this season already.
“It's a good game and always a good game against them because they've got some really good footballers and tactically, it'll be it'll be really interesting.”
MEET THE OFFICIALS
Bobby Madley is the man in the middle for Saturday's Championship fixture.
You can find out more about the West Yorkshire referee and his team of officials below.
REMEMBER THE LAST TIME?
Swansea City extended their unbeaten run to three games but were frustrated not to take more than a point from a strong performance against play-off hopefuls Coventry City when the Sky Blues last visited the Swansea.com Stadium in April.
In an entertaining and hard-fought Good Friday encounter, the Swans struck the woodwork through Ben Cabango, while Liam Walsh, Harry Darling and Joel Piroe also had big chances for the hosts.
At the other end, Andy Fisher made important saves to deny Gustavo Hamer and Matty Godden to ensure the spoils ended up being shared.
PRIME NUMBERS
3 - Each of Swansea's three games so far this season has seen a player score his first goal for the club. Jerry Yates (Birmingham), Josh Ginnelly (Northampton) and Nathan Wood (West Brom) being the trio in question.
15 - The Swans are unbeaten in their last 15 meetings with the Sky Blues, last suffering defeat to them in October 1981.