Hull v Swans: The big talking points

21st December
First team

Swansea City will look to continue their return to winning form when they travel to face Hull City in Saturday’s tea-time kick-off.

Here are some of the big talking points ahead of this weekend’s game.

Familiar faces

There will be a familiar face among the Hull ranks this weekend with former Swans full-back Stephen Kingsley in contention to face his old club following a recent return from injury.

The Scotland international spent three years in SA1, having joined Swansea from Falkirk in June 2014.

He made his first-team bow in the FA Cup defeat at Oxford, but his Premier League debut was a more positive experience as he performed strongly in a 2-1 win at Arsenal.

He went on to make 19 appearances in all before heading to Hull as part of the deal that saw Sam Clucas move in the opposite direction.

His time at the KCOM has been disrupted by injury but he featured for the Tigers in their win over Brentford last time out, and will surely be keen to take on his old team-mates.

Swans winger Daniel James, meanwhile, could face his former club after returning to training following a hamstring strain.

The 21-year-old was a member of the Tigers’ academy set-up for eight years and hails from South Cave, around 14 miles from the KCOM Stadium.


Three in a row?

Victories over Brentford and Sheffield Wednesday ensured Swansea racked up consecutive wins for the third time during the 2018-19 season.

But Graham Potter’s men have not yet been able to record three victories in a row.

It will not be an easy task against a Hull side who have enjoyed an upturn in form over recent weeks, buoyed by the goals of striker Fraizer Campbell.

History is also against the visitors, who have lost on six of their last seven visits to East Yorkshire, failing to score in five of those games.

Bucking that trend this weekend would provide no shortage of Christmas cheer for the Swans and give them their longest winning streak in league action since May 2017.

A scoring run

Over the opening weeks of the season Swansea’s low goal tally was regularly highlighted as a much-changed squad adjusted to life under Potter.

But scoring goals has not been too much of a problem over the last couple of months. In fact, the Swans have found the net in each of their last nine league games.

The last time Potter’s side drew a blank was in the 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa following the October international break.

Swansea have not enjoyed such a sequence since the 2014-15 campaign under Garry Monk, where they scored in 11 consecutive Premier League outings.

Wins away from home never come easy, but extending the scoring streak would certainly give the visitors a decent chance of a positive result.

Choices to make for Potter

The Swansea manager has not been afraid to mix up his selections and make some bold choices during his time in SA1, and he has a few intriguing calls to make this weekend.

Daniel James is in contention for selection following his hamstring injury.

The Wales international had been in fine form before his setback, but Wayne Routledge and Nathan Dyer have performed well in his absence.

Bersant Celina has also made a strong claim for a starting spot after claiming a goal and an assist after coming on as a substitute to help turn around the home clash with the Owls last weekend, while Cameron Carter-Vickers was another to do well off the bench.

The case for the defence

Swansea have gone five games without keeping a clean sheet but they still rank among the Championship’s best sides when it comes to goals conceded.

That has particularly been the case on their travels.

In fact, the Swans have the second-best away defensive record in the division as it reaches the halfway mark.

They have shipped just 10 goals in 11 games away from the Liberty Stadium, with only Middlesbrough having let in fewer on the road with nine.

Swansea have kept four clean sheets from those 11 fixtures, the most recent coming in the 1-0 triumph at Bolton.