Meet the opposition | Blackburn Rovers
As Swansea City get set to face Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park, we take a closer look at the Lancashire club.
What's their story?
Blackburn Rovers were founded in 1875 and became a founding member of The Football League in 1888.
Rovers have spent most of their existence in the top-flight of English football, winning three league titles - the most recent of which came in the 1994-95 season under Sir Kenny Dalglish.
The Lancashire club have also won six FA Cups and one League Cup, with the latter being their most recent major trophy after they beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 at the Millennium Stadium in 2002.
Rovers were last in the Premier League 12 years ago, and did have a solitary season in League One during the 2017-18 campaign, but returned to the second tier at the first time of asking.
They have been in the Championship ever since.
How's their form?
Rovers have had a challenging start to the season, winning just two of their seven games and losing the other five.
They were 1-0 up in their home game against Ipswich Town, but the game was abandoned late on owing to a waterlogged pitch and will have to be replayed.
Blackburn have yet to win on home turf so far this season.
Who's the gaffer?
Valerien Isamel. The Frenchman was appointed as Rovers boss in February of this year, replacing John Eustace.
Ismael had also served as Watford boss during the 2023-24 season, but departed Vicarage Road in the March of that campaign.
He previously had the reins at Besiktas and West Bromwich Albion, but his biggest success as a coach in the English game came with Barnsley.
After succeeding Gerhard Struber, he led the Tykes to the 2021 play-offs where they were beaten by the Swans in the semi-finals.
During his playing career, Ismaël enjoyed spells with Strasbourg, Crystal Palace, Lens, Werder Bremen, Hannover 96 and Bayern Munich.
The former centre-half has vast managerial experience, most notably leading Austrian side LASK to their first-ever Champions League play-off. Ismaël has also had stints in charge of Hannover 96, VfL Wolfsburg II, F.C. Nürnberg, VfL Wolfsburg and Apollon Smyrnis.
Who's the captain?
Todd Cantwell. The former Norwich man was named Rovers skipper following the departure of Lewis Travis.
Now 27, Cantwell began his career at Carrow Road and worked his way up to senior level. He made 129 appearances for the Canaries, helping them win the Championship in 2019 and 2021.
The creative midfielder went on to join Rangers in January 2023, spending 18 months at Ibrox and winning the Scottish League Cup before moving to Blackburn in the summer of 2024.
He enjoyed an excellent first season in Lancashire, contributing three goals and seven assists.
Who are the key men?
Former Swansea academy winger Ryan Hedges has been a regular for Rovers since joining the club in 2022 and the experienced Wales international has made a good start to the season.
On the books at Everton before joining the Swans youth ranks, Hedges had loan spells with Leyton Orient, Stevenage and Yeovil before making the move to Barnsley in January of 2017.
He helped the Tykes to promotion from League One the following year and went on to join Aberdeen in January 2019.
Hedges made 86 appearances in total for the Dons, featuring for them in Europe, and was snapped up by Blackburn in January 2022.
He has gone on to make more than 100 outings for the Lancashire club, scoring eight goals and setting up 13 more.
Japanese forward Yuki Ohashi netted 10 goals in all competitions for Blackburn last season as he made an impressive start to life in the Championship.
The 29-year-old forward made the move to English football after spells with Shonan Bellmare and Sanfrecce Hiroshima in his homeland.
He has also won two caps for his country and his guile and movement have made him a handful for Championship defences.
Full-back Ryan Alebiosu was on the books at Arsenal and featured for their under-21s in the EFL Trophy, but did not make a senior appearance for the Gunners.
Having gained experience during loan spells with Crewe and Kilmarnock, he made a permanent move to Belgian club KV Kortrijk in 2023.
With Kortrijk struggling he spent the second half of last season on loan with St Mirren, and has made an assured start to life in the Championship with Rovers.