Preview | Swansea City v Coventry City
Swansea City will look to make a quick return to winning ways when they host Coventry City in the Championship this evening (7pm).
Steve Cooper’s side suffered just a fifth league defeat of the season at Huddersfield on the weekend, but the head coach was extremely disappointed with the manner of the loss.
Skipper Matt Grimes went as far as to describe it as the Swans worst performance of the season, and they will be determined to put that result behind them and continue a fine unbeaten run of home league form.
Swansea have lost just once at the Liberty in the Championship this season, while Coventry have won just twice on their travels in the second tier; although it should be noted the Sky Blues are effectively playing all games away from home as Birmingham’s St Andrew’s hosts their home fixtures.
But Mark Robins’ side underlined their capabilities by beating promotion hopefuls Brentford at the weekend, and they will be keen to build on that and extend their five-point safety net above the relegation zone.
All of which makes it an important night for both sides.
Team news
Swansea will be without Jordan Morris for the remainder of the season after he suffered a serious knee injury in the defeat at Huddersfield.
Defender Ryan Bennett is a doubt after he picked up a calf problem in Yorkshire.
Brandon Cooper and Wayne Routledge are making good progress in their respective rehabilitations, but Steven Benda, Tivonge Rushesha and Liam Cullen are long-term absentees.
Pre-match views
Steve Cooper: “We want to bounce back but, even if we’d won on the weekend, it’s the case that the past is gone and whatever happens, you start again and prepare for the next game.
“We know Coventry had a really good result and performance on the weekend against Brentford.
“They’re a team that’s stuck with and trusted the way they got promoted from League One with last season, and I have a lot of respect for that.
“They have a very experienced manager, an experienced assistant manager and we know it’s a game we’ve absolutely got to be ready for.
“But we will be. We’re at home, we’re starting this spell of playing every three or four days, and it’s about survival of the fittest and the toughest as well, both physically and mentally.
“We are looking forward to these games.”
Mark Robins: “It was a really good performance against Brentford. It gives us a platform now to kick on which isn’t easy because we’ve got an away game at Swansea on Wednesday and away at Blackburn Rovers next week.
“We’re under no illusions, but for the last game it was a really good performance against a top team.
“I think the players are better than they think they are at times. They have got that fight in them and if we see that from now until the end of the season then we’re going to be absolutely fine.
“That’s clear for everybody, so that’s a real benchmark performance for everyone.
“We can be happy with our day's work but not rest on our laurels."
Remember the last time?
Brendan Rodgers’ Swansea held off a Coventry fightback to claim a 2-1 win when the Sky Blues last visited the Liberty Stadium in September 2010.
Darren Pratley headed in a Mark Gower corner to open the scoring, while Scott Sinclair finished from close range early in the second half.
The Swans looked well on course to maintain their 100 per cent start to the season on home turf, but Ben Turner pulled one back for the visitors to set up a nervy finish.
But the home side saw out the remainder of the game to rack up another three points.
Prime numbers
10 – Swansea City are unbeaten in 10 first-team meetings with Coventry, with the Sky Blues last claiming the spoils in October 1981.
12 – The Swans are unbeaten in 12 home Championship fixtures since losing 2-1 at home to Huddersfield in October.
Today’s mascots
Tonight, we welcome our virtual mascots, Connor Murphy and Archie McLelland
Connor is aged 11, comes from Llanelli, and his favourite player is Jamal Lowe. Connor plays football for West End.
Archie is aged seven, comes from Swansea and his favourite player is Connor Roberts. Archie has two elder brothers - Jordan and Alfie - and plays football for Sandfields Colts.
