Having recently collected his first league win as Swansea City manager, Russell Martin will lead his side into a home clash with third-tier Plymouth Argyle on Tuesday in the second round of this year's EFL Cup.
The Swans seem to have developed quickly, while their visitors have been somewhat of a surprise package in League One so far this season, and will arrive hoping to cause an upset.
Match preview
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Steve Cooper's tenure as Swansea City manager came to an end over the summer, after he guided them to the Championship playoff final last season, and the Swans hierarchy opted to appoint former MK Dons manager Russell Martin heading into the new campaign.
Implementing a system that was expected to take time to bear fruit, the former Norwich City captain got off to a slow start as the Swans were defeated 2-1 by Blackburn Rovers in the opening game, but they bounced back with a 3-0 thrashing of Reading in the first round of the EFL Cup.
Defender Joel Latibeaudiere put the Welsh outfit ahead inside the first 20 minutes, and fellow defender Ben Cabango doubled the lead on the hour mark before new signing Joel Piroe put the game out of sight with a third goal late on.
Martin's men then earned a commendable point with a goalless draw against newly-relegated Sheffield United, but would suffer a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Stoke City in the following game as they trailed by three goals until Piroe netted what would only be a consolation goal in the 73rd minute.
At the fourth time of asking, the Swans recorded their first league win under Martin last time out, as Piroe continued his scoring run with the only goal in a 1-0 away victory over Bristol City on Friday night, meaning they head into Tuesday's clash with some newly-found confidence.
They take on a Plymouth Argyle side who have had a commendable start to the League One season, and will look to punch above their weight when they make the trip to take on Championship opposition.
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Despite heading into the new League One season as one of the sides tipped to struggle, Plymouth have got off to a relatively strong start, although they did suffer a defeat on the opening day.
First-half goals from Freddie Ladapo and Ben Wiles fired a heavily-fancied Rotherham United side to a 2-0 victory, but Ryan Lowe's men bounced back in style, thrashing Championship outfit Peterborough United 4-0 thanks to a Ryan Hardie brace and goals from Luke Jephcott and Panutche Camara.
They then built on that upon their return to league action, as Luke Jephcott netted a late winner to fire the Pilgrims to a 1-0 home win over Gillingham before he again got on the scoresheet in a 1-1 draw with Cambridge United in the following game.
Lowe's men made a return to winning ways last time out, as they thrashed Shrewsbury Town 3-0 away from home thanks to another Hardie brace and Jephcott's fourth goal of the campaign.
With that start filling the Pilgrims with confidence, they will look to take a Championship scalp to build further momentum as they aim to establish themselves in the top half of the League One table.
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Team News
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Swansea forward Joel Piroe has already hit three goals for the club since arriving in the summer, and he will look to continue his form on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Martin may hand a start to young attacker Morgan Whittaker, who has struggled to break into the starting XI so far this season.
Yan Dhanda is another exciting prospect yet to earn the favour of the new manager, and he could come in to give captain Matt Grimes a rest after an impressive start to the campaign.
Centre-back Ben Cabango and midfielder Flynn Downes are both unavailable after returning positive COVID-19 tests, although experienced defenders Kyle Naughton and Ryan Bennett will return from isolation to potentially ease the workload on the likes of Joel Latibeaudiere and Ryan Manning after a gruelling start.
Despite ongoing links to an upwards move, Plymouth's star forward Luke Jephcott remains at the club, and he will be key if they are to challenge Swansea.
He is joined in a threatening front line by Ryan Hardie, who has already hit two doubles this season.
Macaulay Gillesphey has impressed since arriving from Brisbane Roar in the summer, and he should again feature in a back three alongside Dan Scarr and Brendan Galloway.
Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Benda; Naughton, Bennett, Cooper; Laird, Dhanda, Fulton, Bidwell; Whittaker, Piroe, Cullen
Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Cooper; Gillesphey, Scarr, Galloway; Edwards, Camara, Houghton, Broom, Grant; Jephcott, Hardie
We say: Swansea City 2-1 Plymouth Argyle
While Plymouth will certainly pose a threat going forward, Swansea should have enough to book their spot in the third round even with a rotated squad.
The side seems to be developing with Martin's system, and we expect them to dominate the League One side on Tuesday, eventually coming out with a win.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Swansea City win with a probability of 46.63%. A win for Plymouth Argyle had a probability of 26.93% and a draw had a probability of 26.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Swansea City win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.14%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.05%) and 2-0 (8.78%). The likeliest Plymouth Argyle win was 0-1 (8.66%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.52%). The actual scoreline of 4-1 was predicted with a 1.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Swansea City would win this match.
