Preview | Swansea City v Charlton Athletic

Swansea City will look to kick off 2020 on a winning note when they host Charlton Athletic at the Liberty Stadium tonight.

The Swans have had a largely positive festive period, and three points against the Addicks would tee them up nicely as attentions start to turn towards the long final run-in to the end of the campaign in May.

After losing five of seven games at home, the Swans are now unbeaten in three games on home turf, and frustrated that they did not add wins over Blackburn and Barnsley to their triumph over Middlesbrough.

Steve Cooper and his players have made no excuses, and made clear they are fully aware that their results at the Liberty need to improve.

They face a Charlton time who are at the wrong end of the table, but managed to end a long, long wait for a win against Bristol City on Boxing Day.

Lee Bowyer’s men have been cruelly hit by injuries, but Swansea will need no reminder of the nature of the task at hand after overcoming a stern examination at The Valley in October.

It’s a night where both sides could do with a three-point haul before the brief break for FA Cup action this weekend.

Team news

Swansea City will not be able to call on Sam Surridge after the striker was recalled from his loan spell by parent club Bournemouth.

Mike van der Hoorn is likely to miss out again as he continues to recover from a knee injury.

That means Ben Cabango and Ben Wilmot are set to continue at the centre of the Swans defence.

Aldo Kalulu should be back in contention after missing the draw with Barnsley with a minor knock, while Joe Rodon and Jordon Garrick are due back within the next month from their respective ankle and hamstring problems.

Pre-match views

Steve Cooper: “At this time of year with so many games, there is not so much recovery time. But we have to match their intensity and make the most of any moments we create.

“We always want to improve, but I have no issues with our attitude and effort.

“We have had some frustrating results, particularly at home, but on our day we can, and will, beat anybody.

“The challenge is to make sure we have more of those days than not.”

Lee Bowyer: “If anything is our strength it is our fight and our togetherness. Maybe the Christmas period is catching up with us? It might be, but I don’t like seeing my teams do that [the performance at Derby]. We’ll have to dust them down and move on. We can’t let that happen again.”

Remember the last time?

Play-off chasing Swansea City were left frustrated as they were held to a draw by bottom club Charlton at the Liberty Stadium.

Roberto Martinez’s side, who lost Garry Monk to injury early on, completely dominated the opening half.

And they took the lead when Nathan Dyer raced on to a Guillem Buaza pass to slot home the opener.

But Nicky Bailey’s deflected strike beat Dorus de Vries to ensure the spoils were shared and the Swans would eventually miss out on the top six, claiming an eventual eighth-place finish.

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