Potter planning for the Blades
Graham Potter admits Swansea City must start thinking about Sheffield United as they prepare for tonight’s pre-season friendly against Eibar (6pm UK time).
The Swans take on Eibar, who finished ninth in La Liga last term, in their penultimate warm-up game ahead of the new Championship campaign.
Penalty shootouts aside, the Swans are unbeaten in pre-season, having beaten Yeovil Town and Newport County before drawing 60-minute games against Genoa and FC Magdeburg last Saturday.
They now face Eibar and German top-flight side SC Freiburg – on Friday – before heading home for the league opener at Bramall Lane on August 4.
Potter has given as many players as possible a taste of the action in the friendlies up until this point.
But it is getting to the stage now where the new Swans boss is contemplating who will face the Blades.
“There will not be so much rotation in the next two games,” Potter said.
“The season starts a week on Saturday and we need to get some game-time into people and we need to improve.”
There are 27 players on the Swans’ pre-season trip to Germany and Austria, and 24 of them saw some action against either Genoa or Magdeburg.
Federico Fernandez missed out on those matches because of a badly bruised leg, but he could come back into the fold to face Eibar.
Leroy Fer, who is not yet ready to play after a long-term Achilles problem, and young keeper Steven Benda were the only others who did not feature over the weekend.
But the number of players involved is likely to be cut tonight as the Swans take on an Eibar side who beat the likes of Sevilla and Valencia last season and drew with Atletico Madrid in their most recent competitive game.
“The next two games will be good tests for us,” Potter said.
“They will be a level up and that’s probably what we need at this stage.
“The quality of the opposition will be a step up for us and we will need to step up as well.”
*We are looking to bring you live coverage of tonight’s game right here on swanseacity.com, subject to us receiving the relevant feeds from our German TV provider. Visit swanseacity.com just before 6pm to watch the action.
