Swansea City and Blackburn Rovers square off in South Wales on Saturday afternoon each looking for a win that will ease their lingering relegation concerns.
Although these teams sit in 17th and 16th spot in the Championship standings respectively, they are only four points above the bottom three.
Match preview
© Reuters
Having failed to make an immediate positive impact at Swansea, it is understandable that the jury is still out on recently-appointed head coach Luke Williams.
Ahead of the trip to Sunderland last weekend, five defeats had been posted in six games, pulling the Welsh outfit into a relegation scrap.
However, recording a 2-1 victory at the Stadium of Light has come at just the right time for Williams and his players, with the Swans now sitting in 16th position.
Swansea cannot afford to breathe easier just yet with just eight points separating 15th and 23rd place, but it was at least a step in the right direction.
Improving their form at the Swansea.com Stadium is key, though, with just four wins coming from 17 league games in 2023-24 and four successive defeats having been posted since January 20.
© Reuters
As for Blackburn, John Eustace has definitely had a positive impact at the club since being appointed as the replacement for Jon Dahl Tomasson.
However, he remains winless after four games in the Championship, with the last three ending in draws against Preston North End, Cardiff City and Norwich City respectively.
With Rovers having recorded just one win in 13 games, though, they remain very much in a battle for survival in the second tier, not helped by their last away success coming on November 25.
Blackburn did impress in midweek as they earned a 1-1 draw with Premier League outfit Newcastle United in the FA Cup fifth round, only to succumb to a defeat on penalties to miss out on a trip to North West neighbours Manchester City in the quarter-finals.
Team News
© Reuters
Barring any further fitness issues, Williams may be prepared to keep with the Swansea XI that started the win over Sunderland.
However, despite five players being on the injured list, and Bashir Humphreys remaining a doubt, the likes of Jay Fulton, Oliver Cooper and Jerry Yates are all pushing for recalls.
Although Eustace switched to a back four for the Newcastle match, reverting to a defensive three may be his choice on Saturday.
Either Harry Pickering, Billy Koumetio or Ben Chrisene could line up at left wing-back, a consequence of Ryan Hedges potentially requiring another game on the sidelines with a groin injury.
The rest of the team that started against Norwich in the most recent Championship encounter could stay the same.
Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Rushworth; Naughton, Cabango, Wood, Tymon; Allen, Grimes; Ronald, Paterson, Placheta; Cullen
Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Pears; Hyam, McFadzean, Wharton; Brittain, Buckley, Tronstad, Pickering; Dolan, Gallagher; Szmodics
We say: Swansea City 1-2 Blackburn Rovers
While Swansea could build on the win at Sunderland, Blackburn can only benefit from how they pushed Newcastle all the way in midweek. Depending on how fresh that they feel after extra time and penalties, we are backing Rovers to come out on top and move closer to securing safety in the second tier.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Darren Plant
