Swansea City continue their preparations for the 2022-23 campaign as they go head to head with Plymouth Argyle at Home Park on Tuesday.
The Swans head into the game unbeaten in each of their last five games against Steven Schumacher's men since 2008, claiming four wins and one draw in that time.
Match preview
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After a solid run in the 2021-22 League One campaign, Plymouth Argyle simply ran out of steam at the business end of the season as they failed to win any of their final five league outings.
This poor run saw the Pilgrims miss out on the playoffs by just three points after picking up 80 points from 46 games to finish seventh in the table, just below sixth-placed Wycombe Wanderers in the final playoff spot.
While Schumacher's side will look to clean the dust off their feet and prepare for the upcoming campaign, they could only salvage a 2-2 draw against Plymouth Parkway in their opening pre-season game on Saturday.
After trailing 2-0 at half time courtesy of strikes from Billy Palfrey and former Exeter City man Ben Seymour, the bench came to the rescue for the Pilgrims as Joe Edwards and Ryan Hardie came on to find the target in the final eight minutes of the game.
While Plymouth Argyle will be looking to snap their six-game winless run, next up is an opposing side who they have failed to defeat in five consecutive attempts, dating back to a 1-0 victory back in 2002.
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Meanwhile, Swansea City endured a horrid run in the Championship last season, picking up 61 points from 46 games to finish 15th in the league standings.
As the Swans continued their preparations for the upcoming campaign, they were forced to work their socks off on Saturday as they picked up a hard-fought 3-2 victory over a dogged Forest Green Rovers side behind closed doors.
After falling behind to Michael Obafemi's 12th-minute opener, Reece Brown and Armani Little struck in a 21-minute spell to put the Greens ahead, but goals from Kyle Naughton and substitute Liam Cullen helped the Swans take the lead for the second time in the game.
Prior to that, Russell Martin's side kicked off their preparations for the 2022-23 Championship campaign with an emphatic 7-0 win over Haverfordwest County on July 1 before holding out for a 2-2 draw with Colchester United four days later.
Swansea City kick off their league campaign with a visit to the New York Stadium to take on Rotherham United on July 30, while Plymouth Argyle host Barnsley in their opening League One game.
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Team News
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Martin could opt to start with a strong side once again after naming the likes of Obafemi, Joel Piroe, Harry Darling and new signing Matty Sorinola in the XI against Forest Green Rovers last time out.
Olivier Ntcham and Cullen came off the bench at the start of the second half to good effect in the aforementioned game and could be handed starting roles on Tuesday.
Swansea also have plenty of fresh legs to pick from on Tuesday as the likes of Liam Walsh, Ben Cabango, Ryan Bennett, Daniel Williams and Joe Allen did not feature against the League One side.
Allen recently completed a memorable return to Swansea after putting pen to paper on a two-year deal and the 32-year-old could be handed his first appearance in his second stint at the club.
However, the Swans will be without the services of promising midfielder Flynn Downes, who completed a £12m move to Premier League side West Ham United.
Meanwhile, 17-year-old Jeffery Forkuo was a standout performer for Plymouth Argyle in the draw against Plymouth Parkway and he could be rewarded with a place in the XI on Tuesday.
Having played on the right side of the back three, he should team up with the more experienced Dan Scarr and former Newcastle United man Macaulay Gillesphey at the defensive end of the pitch.
Hardie and Edwards came off the bench to spare the Pilgrims' blushes on Saturday as they both found the target and the duo could be handed starting roles against the Swans.
Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Burton; Forkuo, Scarr, Gillesphey; Randell, Edwards, Houghton, Mayor, Endacott; Jephcott, Hardie
Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Fisher; Manning, Wood, Darling, Naughton; Grimes, Allen, Congreve; Piroe, Obafemi, Ntcham
We say: Plymouth Argyle 1-3 Swansea City
While it is still early in pre-season, we expect a thrilling contest as Swansea City visit Home Park. While the hosts spared their blushes last time out, the Swans were made to grind their way to a slender victory by Forest Green Rovers. We are backing Swansea to carry on the momentum from that performance and come out victorious on Tuesday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
