On their return to action from the November international break, Swansea City and Hull City will square off in South Wales on Saturday.
Thanks to an upturn in form before the break, the visitors find themselves eighth in the Championship table and only outside of the playoff spots on goal difference, while their visitors are seven points worse off in 17th spot on the back of a tougher run.
Match preview
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Returning to action following the latest international break, Swansea City find themselves in a somewhat disappointing position in the Championship in their first season under the management of Michael Duff, as they currently sit 17th with just 19 points on the board from their opening 16 outings.
The Welsh outfit did manage to bounce back from a poor start with four straight victories in the second tier across late September and early October, but they would manage just one more three-point haul from the following five matches prior to the break.
That came in a 1-0 triumph away at Blackburn Rovers late last month, on the back of consecutive defeats, but the Swans only then managed to earn a point from a goalless stalemate at home to Sunderland before most recently travelling to second-placed Ipswich Town and falling just short in a 3-2 defeat at Portman Road, with Jamal Lowe's injury-time goal coming too late to spark a comeback after Jay Fulton initially had them ahead.
While their tough run before the halt in play was in no small part down to a tough run of fixtures, having played three of the Championship's top six across those five matches, it has nonetheless triggered a quick drop back down the table for Swansea with a three-point gap up to the top half.
Now hoping to put that slump behind them and correct their home form, having only managed nine points from their eight matches at the Swansea.com Stadium thus far, Duff's men will be desperate to return to winning ways on Saturday to trigger a climb back up towards the right end of the division.
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Their schedule certainly does not get any easier, though, as Hull City make the trip hoping to crack the top six themselves after heading into the international break on a high with a run of fine form.
After enjoying a positive start to the campaign and experiencing a brief dip in form, Liam Rosenior's side sat on 17 points from their opening 12 Championship outings in late October, and they have quickly added to that tally since, managing three victories from their four games since as they firstly ended a winless run with a 2-0 triumph away at Birmingham City.
The Tigers would then make it back-to-back triumphs for the first time since August, beating Preston North End 1-0 on home turf, before instantly bouncing back from a 3-1 loss away at fellow playoff-chasers West Bromwich Albion when they hosted Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Town last time out.
In their bid to get back to winning ways, Rosenior's men looked set to come away with a somewhat disappointing share of the spoils from a goalless draw with the struggling Terriers, but Liam Delap popped up with a 92nd-minute winner to ensure his side snatched all three points at the MKM Stadium.
Now returning to action following the latest layoff, Hull City only trail sixth-placed Sunderland and seventh-placed West Brom on goal difference, and they will now aim to pick up where they left off and make it back-to-back triumphs again on Saturday with the chance to climb into the playoff places.
Team News
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Swansea City continue to deal with an unenviable injury list after the break, with Joe Allen, Nathan Wood, Natanael Ogbeta, Josh Key, Josh Ginnelly and Mykola Kukharevych all set to remain sidelined, while attacker Liam Cullen is also ruled out through suspension after being sent off in their defeat to Ipswich last time out.
They will, at least, be boosted by the return of Charlie Patino, with the midfielder having served his own suspension in that Ipswich game, and he will hope to return alongside Matt Grimes in the engine room from the outset, although Jay Fulton does have a claim to stay in having scored while featuring in Patino's absence at Portman Road.
Elsewhere in their 4-2-3-1 shape, Chelsea loanee Bashir Humphreys should again join Harry Darling in the middle of the defence, while Jerry Yates will continue to lead the line with Jamal Lowe also playing a key role in attack, having each notched up four Championship goals so far this term.
Hull City are also expected to be dealing with several injury issues, as Regan Slater, Adama Traore and Dogukan Sinik are set to continue spells on the sidelines, while Aaron Connolly picked up a foot issue of his own in his substitute appearance against Huddersfield last time out and may also not return to contention in time to feature at the weekend.
Instead, Rosenior should opt to deploy an unchanged starting XI from that triumph over Huddersfield in his preferred 4-2-3-1 shape, with Tyler Morton and Jean-Michael Seri set to continue their midfield partnership while Alfie Jones and Sean McLoughlin should partner up at the heart of the back four.
At the other end of the pitch, Liam Delap should continue to lead the line after hitting his fifth league goal of the season last time out, while winger Jaden Philogene is another key man in attack having contributed three goals and five assists in just 10 Championship appearances so far this term.
Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Rushworth; Ashby, Darling, Humphreys, Tymon; Patino, Grimes; Lowe, Paterson, Cooper; Yates
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Allsop; Coyle, Jones, McLoughlin, Greaves; Seri, Morton; Twine, Tufan, Philogene; Delap
We say: Swansea City 0-2 Hull City
Swansea City are yet to truly get going under Michael Duff, while Hull are gaining momentum in impressive fashion in the Championship this season.
Even facing a long trip to south Wales, we fancy Rosenior's men to come out on top and take all three points at the weekend thanks to their quality at both ends of the pitch.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
