Talking Tactics | Swansea City v Rotherham United
Swansea City look to follow up their 3-0 win over Stoke City when they host Rotherham United at the Swansea.com Stadium on Saturday (3pm).
Here, WhoScored.com preview the clash, looking at what to expect from the Millers, A key battle and a key stat.
What to expect from Rotherham
The visitors head to Swansea on the back of a very disappointing run, registering just one league win in their last 18 Championship matches.
The fate of Rotherham has already been decided and Leam Richardson’s side will be plying their trade in League One next season.
Last time out, two first-half goals were enough for West Brom to get the better of the Millers at the Hawthorns.
When Swansea last faced Rotherham, the Welsh club were victorious as they secured a 2-1 win with goals from Charlie Patino and Jerry Yates; making the extra man count after Daniel Ayala was dismissed early on.
Rotherham have not settled on a formation this season and have set up in no less than 11 different systems. Their most used, though, is 4-3-3, which the Millers have opted for in 10 league games this season.
This match-up will likely see two very different styles of play, with Rotherham looking to dominate in the air, with Swansea aiming to keep as much of the possession as possible.
In fact, only Preston (21.2) and Millwall (20.6) are averaging more aerial wins per game than Rotherham (20.3) in the league this term.
The visitors' key man in the air is forward Jordan Hugill. He is averaging a total of 4.1 aerial wins per game and will pose a threat to the Swans backline if he can assert his aerial dominance.
A Key Battle.
Despite it being such a desperately disappointing campaign for Rotherham, there is one player who has been a shining light for the Millers.
Goalkeeper Viktor Johansson has been the stand-out for the relegated Millers and is currently the second highest-rated goalkeeper (6.73) in the league, of those who have featured more than 40 times.
Johansson has been an ever-present, playing every minute of the campaign thus far.
The Swedish stopper has made a total of 169 saves, at least 29 more than any other goalkeeper in the division.
This comes as no surprise to Swansea fans though as you only have to look at the reverse fixture to see just how good a shot stopper Johansson is, with the Rotherham keeper making a total of eight saves that day.
Swansea have their very own talented keeper in Carl Rushworth who, like Johansson, has played every minute of Championship football this season.
Rushworth ranks third for saves amongst Championship goalkeepers with a total of 137 made so far this season, an average of 3.3 per game.
And it may prove the case that whichever of these excellent goalkeepers has the better day ends up on the winning team.
A Key Stat
According to WhoScored.com’s xG data, Rotherham currently rank rock bottom for xG this season with a figure of 31.38 accrued.
Yet, they have still slightly over performed that figure, having scored on 32 occasions.
Similarly, Rotherham also have the highest xG against in the division with a figure of 82xG, compared to Swansea’s 67.04.
The data suggests Swansea will get their fair share of chances against Rotherham, and being clinical will be important for the hosts.