Preview | Swansea City v Birmingham City
Swansea City go in search of a fifth home win in a row when they host Birmingham City at the Swansea.com Stadium this evening (5.30pm).
The Swans have seen off Oxford, Portsmouth, Wrexham and West Bromwich Albion and have the chance to record a quintet of home league triumphs in succession for the first time since 2019.
Birmingham, meanwhile, head to south Wales without a league win on their travels since October, but boosted by their home victory against Championship leaders Coventry City.
Team news
Liam Cullen has returned to training following a calf problem and is in contention to make his return against Birmingham.
Ishe Samuels-Smith (groin) and Adam Idah (hamstring) remain on the sidelines.
Defender Jack Robinson is a doubt for the visitors, as is striker Jay Stansfield. Keshi Anderson and Lyndon Dykes have left the Blues this week.
Pre-match Views
Vitor Matos: “They are a very organised team, a really well managed team that has a clear identity in terms of how they want to be as an offensive team.
“It's a team who likes to press, who likes to be dominant with the ball. It's clear how they build, it's clear they have a lot of options in terms of squad which gives them a lot of possibilities.
“So yeah, we really expect a good game, a game that we need to be on our toes to compete in and I think that's quite important.
“Our home form has been good, and the connection between the team and the fans has been a big reason for this.
“It is one of the biggest things we have and it keeps growing and we all benefit from that.
“It is great for us as a club, and we know it is down to us as a team on the pitch to bring the fans with us, when we can do that we can have special evenings. That’s what we want.”
Chris Davies: We’ve gone away, we’ve got a good win in the cup away from home, and that was a good feeling for us. It may just be the FA Cup but it’s still a win on the road and hopefully that will bode well for us.
“From our point of view, we need to show all the ingredients we’ve shown in the last two matches, away from just football. The spirit, the togetherness, the determination - all the qualities you need to win football matches.
“Away from home, if you’re talking about some of the qualities you need – determination, resilience, that feeling that you’re a team that’s together – they are the things that are going to win you the games and hopefully that’s something we can really build on now.”
Meet the officials
Tom Nield will be the man in the middle when Swansea City host Birmingham City on Saturday (5.30pm kick-off).
He has taken charge of one Swansea fixture previously this season, with that being the 3-2 defeat at West Bromwich Albion in November.
So far this season, he has overseen 16 fixtures handing out 60 yellow cards.
On Saturday, he will be assisted by Andrew Dallison and Mark Russell. Aaron Bannister will be the fourth official.
Remember the last time?
Jerry Yates marked his Swansea City debut with a goal as Michael Duff’s side came from behind to draw with Birmingham City on the opening day of the season at the Swansea.com Stadium.
The Swans had followed the head coach’s request for an energetic showing during an opening half they had the better of, only to trail to Siriki Dembele’s goal on the stroke of half-time.
But the hosts kept pushing after the break and got their reward when a superb pass from captain Matt Grimes put in sequence the move for Yates’ close-range effort as the spoils were shared at the end of an entertaining contest.
Prime numbers
4 - Swansea have won each of their past four home league matches, having won just one of their previous eight (D3 L4). The Swans last had a longer home winning run between February and April 2019 (six).
9 - Swansea haven't won any of their past nine league matches against Birmingham City (D5 L4) since a 3-1 win in July 2020.