Swansea City play host to Queens Park Rangers on Easter Monday with the opportunity to move to the brink of all-but-guaranteeing survival in the Championship for another season.
At a time when the Welsh outfit sit in 15th position in the standings and eight points clear of the relegation zone, QPR find themselves in 18th spot, their highest place since the early stages of the campaign.
Match preview
© Reuters
There was a time earlier in the year when there felt a disconnect between new head coach Luke Williams and the Swansea fans, but that is no longer the case after their upturn in fortunes.
Since five defeats in six outings moved them closer to the bottom three, Swansea have responded by collecting 11 points from the same amount of matches.
The solitary defeat came at Bristol City by a 1-0 scoreline, yet four points have since been accumulated from meetings with Cardiff City and Sheffield Wednesday.
Coming from behind to earn a share of the spoils at the latter of those opponents will be regarded as a positive result for Williams and his squad, who are now eight points clear of the bottom three.
Trying to finish in the top half of the table will remain Swansea's goal - they are just four points adrift of 12th place - yet there is the potential for the landscape to change with defeat on Monday.
Having headed into the international break on the back of three games without success, Marti Cifuentes would have been aware that there was plenty of work ahead to avoid relegation.
That still remains the case, yet the magnitude of Friday's 2-1 victory over Birmingham City should not be ignored, with Jimmy Dunne scoring a wonder goal in stoppage time at Loftus Road.
The West Londoners have now won six of their last 12 matches in the second tier, with their return of 20 points from those fixtures the fifth-best effort in the division.
Cifuentes's side have also collected 10 points from their most recent five away fixtures, arguably making them favourites against opponents who have won their last two home contests.
Team News
© Reuters
Williams is expected to make changes in the Swansea final third with Jamal Lowe and Jerry Yates both in line for recalls.
Joe Allen will also be considered for a return in central midfield, but the remainder of the team from the draw with Sheffield Wednesday may stay the same.
With Kyle Naughton and Harrison Ashby on the injury list, Josh Key is likely to remain at right-back.
Cifuentes could freshen up his QPR side with either Sinclair Armstrong or Lyndon Dykes getting the nod over Michael Frey in attack.
Jack Colback may also feature in midfield, but alterations may be few and far between after the win over Birmingham.
Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Rushworth; Key, Darling, Wood, Tymon; Fulton, Grimes; Ronald, Paterson, Placheta; Cullen
Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:
Begovic; Dunne, Cook, Clarke-Salter, Paal; Hayden, Field; Willock, Andersen, Chair; Armstrong
We say: Swansea City 1-2 Queens Park Rangers
Having improved considerably under Williams, Swansea will back themselves to earn at least a share of the spoils here. Nevertheless, QPR can finally play with some extra freedom in this contest and we feel that will lead to another dramatic victory for Cifuentes's men.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
