Preview | Middlesbrough v Swansea City
Swansea City travel to face Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium this afternoon as they look to bounce back from defeat against Queens Park Rangers on Easter Monday (3pm).
Luke Williams’ side have only lost once in their previous five away matches, recording wins over Hull City and Sunderland on the road.
Meanwhile, hosts Boro are still in the play-off hunt having picked up 14 points from their past six games.
Team news
Head coach Williams has confirmed Joe Allen and Przemysław Płacheta will be absent for this weekend’s trip to Teeside.
Allen suffered a toe injury in the defeat to Queens Park Rangers, while Płacheta picked up a hamstring problem in the draw at Sheffield Wednesday.
Kyle Naughton remains sidelined with his own hamstring injury, although Bashir Humphreys is nearing a return and Ben Cabango was among the substitutes against QPR following his spell out with an ankle problem.
Pre-match views
Luke Williams: “When you raise the bar up as a group of players, and we deserved to win that game [against Cardiff] in the manner we did, and that performance was not an outlier.
“That is a performance that had been brewing through a lot of games, like against Sunderland, Blackburn and Watford.
“The performance was coming and then we raised it a bit more. But, unfortunately, when you raise that level a little bit more, you have to stay at that level; me and the players.”
Michael Carrick: "It’s a results business, and we’re here to win games, but there’s the other element of having a duty of care and looking after the players, especially the younger ones.
"It’s about managing what they can do, and putting them into situations that they should be in, not ones where they shouldn’t be.
“We know we’ve got good players to choose from, so we’ll make the right decision on that one and making sure we are ready and fresh for this game."
Meet the officials
Rebecca Welch will be in charge of this afternoon’s fixture.
Welch was promoted to Select Group 2 in the summer of 2023 and this will be the second time she has taken charge of a Swans match, having previously overseen the home win over Blackburn Rovers last month.
Click here to find out more about the officials.
Remember the last time?
Swansea City suffered defeat on their last trip to the Riverside Stadium as a pair of first-half goals gave Middlesbrough the three points.
Riley McGree and Matt Crooks were on the scoresheet for the hosts as they picked up their first win of the season.
Swansea - who had Ben Cabango sent off late - had promising positions they failed to make the most of, but got one back through a Joel Piroe penalty and spent the final stages pressing desperately for an equaliser that would not come.
Prime Numbers
4 - It's been four years since the Swans won at the Riverside, losing by one goal on each of their past three visits. However, prior to that they recorded a comprehensive 3-0 win in June 2020.
8 - Jamal Lowe and Jerry Yates are joint top scorers for the Swans with eight goals apiece in all competitions. Jamie Paterson is one behind on seven, while Liam Cullen has scored six.
134 - Carl Rushworth has made 134 saves this season. The third-highest tally in the league.