Preview | Swansea City v Middlesbrough
Swansea City will look to continue their improving form when they host play-off chasing Middlesbrough at the Swansea.com Stadium this afternoon (3pm).
The Swans picked up a point at Preston in midweek to make it four points from six under caretaker head coach Alan Sheehan.
The home side have also now taken seven points from the last 12 on offer, keeping three clean sheets in those four games.
Boro, meanwhile, have won their last two games, arresting a run of five straight defeats that had threatened to derail their promotion aspirations.
Team News
The Swans are nursing a few bumps and bruises following a physical contest at Deepdale in midweek, and are waiting on the fitness of Myles Peart-Harris after he suffered a back injury against Preston.
Otherwise there are no new serious injury concerns for caretaker head coach Sheehan.
Kristian Pedersen is the only injury absentee for the Swans after Joe Allen returned from an ankle problem.
The visitors, meanwhile, have suffered a number of injuries in defensive areas, with George Edmundson, Luke Ayling, Darragh Lenihan and Rav van den Berg among those sidelined.
Pre-match views
Alan Sheehan: “High energy is how we want to play, with and without the ball. We want that be part of our core principles.
“We want to have the ball at the right times, there are goals at either end of the field for a reason so we don’t want to lose sight of what we want to do when we do have the ball.
“It may be that it takes one pass or 20, as different things can be more effective against different opposition and in different situations.
“But it’s about understanding what we have and how to get the best out of the players we have at our disposal. There’s a lot of consideration that goes into that, and a lot you have to weigh up.
“I understand style is important but, as I have said before, we have to build confidence, character and resilience because that gives us different aspects and foundations to fall back on.
“That will allow us to be able to be more consistent, which you need in the Championship with how relentless it is, and the ups and downs you can face.”
Michael Carrick: “Sometimes there are injuries you can do something about, but there are certain times when they're just thrown at you.
“It's how and why you ask yourself, and there's not really much you can do.
“Unfortunately that's where we've found ourselves lately but it doesn't deter us and knock us off, and we're still looking forward to putting a team out that we feel can win the game.”
Meet the officials
Ruebyn Ricardo is the man in the middle for this afternoon's fixture.
You can find out more about the official, who takes charge of a Swans fixture for the first time, and his team below.
Remember the last time?
Jamal Lowe’s fifth goal of the season was not enough for Swansea City as they suffered defeat when Middlesbrough last visited the Swansea.com Stadium in December 2023.
The Swans enjoyed the better of the opening half, with Josh Key, Bashir Humphreys, Jay Fulton and Liam Walsh all having chances, only for Sam Greenwood to put Boro ahead just before half-time.
The hosts responded after the break and deservedly levelled through Lowe’s header, but ended the afternoon on the wrong side of the scoreline when substitute Sammy Silvera netted from an indirect free-kick for the visitors.
Prime numbers
7 - Swansea have not beaten Middlesbrough in the last seven meetings between the sides, with the Teessiders winning six of those games.
9 - The clean sheet at Preston in midweek was Swansea's ninth of the season, and their third in the last four games.