Talking Tactics | Swansea City v Plymouth Argyle

Swansea City return to the Swansea.com Stadium after two away trips to take on Plymouth Argyle on Saturday (3pm).

Ahead of the arrival of the Green Army, WhoScored.com preview the clash, looking at what to expect from the visitors, a key battle and key stat.

What to expect from Plymouth Argyle

Plymouth come into this one on the back of an unbeaten run of five games in all competitions, having lost just once in their last eight fixtures in the Championship.

In their most recent Championship outing, the Devon side overcame a one-goal deficit to beat Cardiff 3-1 at Home Park.

Interestingly, Plymouth are yet to record a win on the road this season – with six draws and eight defeats on their travels.

Ian Foster has set up his side in a 4-3-3 most frequently in the league this season, with a three-pronged attack spearheaded by Ryan Hardie with support from, top scorer Morgan Whittaker and Bali Mumba.

WhoScored.com’s statistically-developed strengths for Plymouth include creating chances, shooting from direct free-kicks and counter-attacks. Only Leeds (eight) and Blackburn (seven) have scored more goals from counter-attacks than Plymouth (six) this term and Swansea will need to be wary of the Argyle attack on the break.

Both sides come into this fixture having conceded 47 goals this season, with Plymouth (47) scoring eight goals more than the Swans (39)

Key Battle

Former Swan, Morgan Whittaker, is Plymouth Argyle’s highest-rated player in the Championship this season with a WhoScored.com rating of 7.37.

The 23-year-old has scored 15 goals already this season and provided six assists. Only Blackburn’s Sammie Szmodics has scored more goals than Whittaker’s tally and, with a total of 21-goal contributions the Argyle man ranks second with Southampton's Adam Armstrong the only player with more (25).

Whittaker’s goal tally should not come as a surprise when you consider he has had 14 more shots than any other player in the league this season (111) and has hit the target 42 times, five more than any other.

The Swansea defence will be looking to keep their former colleague quiet, but the Swans are armed with Ben Cabango, who has blocked more shots than any other Swansea defender this season (14).

Cabango ranks second amongst his colleagues (20+ apps) for tackles per game this season (1.5), with only Jamie Paterson (1.6) recording more, and is averaging more clearances (4.7) than any other Swan. It is likely to be an intriguing battle.

Key Stat

Plymouth have failed to beat Swansea in any of the last six fixtures between the two sides, and Swansea have won all of their last three home matches against Plymouth in all competitions.