Preview | Swansea City v Coventry City
Swansea City will be looking to complete a league double over Coventry and record back-to-back Championship wins for the first time since the start of November when they host the Sky Blues this afternoon (3pm).
A 2-0 away win over West Bromwich Albion on Monday evening has given Russell Martin’s side a boost as they look to back up that display and result at the Swansea.com Stadium.
Swans’ recent home form has been good with three wins from four and Monday’s clean sheet was the 13th the side had registered this season, giving them the joint-third best defensive record in the league when it comes to shut-outs.
Cyrus Christie (two goals in three appearances) and Michael Obafemi (two in two at home) have found form in front of goal, while top scorer Joel Piroe took his tally for the season to 15 on Monday night.
The visitors are the epitome of consistency, picking up points on a steady basis as they sit just outside the play-off places. They have generally faired better at home than on the road; however, two wins from three away on their travels indicates that their away form is on the up.
Remember the last time?
Russell Martin expects to have the same squad available for Saturday’s game against Coventry City, and revealed January signing Nathanael Ogbeta has joined full training with his team-mates.
The Swans boss was able to restore Kyle Naughton and Hannes Wolf to his starting line-up for the win at West Brom on Monday, and there are no new injury problems to report on the back of victory at The Hawthorns.
Ogbeta, who joined from Shrewsbury on deadline day, is set to be absent against the Sky Blues but his recovery from a hamstring injury is progressing well.
Pre-match views
Russell Martin: “I thought it was a really top performance last time up there, we know Coventry are a very good team.
“I like and respect what they’ve done over time, what Mark and his staff have done.
“They’ve shown how important it is to have a philosophy and to have time to implement it.
“We’re at home. We like being at home and if we can replicate the performance we put up there we can hope for a good result.
“I think it will be a good game, they will not come here to try and stop us playing, they will want to impose themselves and I am looking forward to it.
“The players are looking forward to it, I think the performance the result on Monday will allow us to go out on the pitch with confidence.
“We have to back up Monday with another good performance and result."
Mark Robins:
Remember the last time?
Ben Cabango’s second-half header was the difference when Swans last hosted Coventry City at the Swansea.com Stadium.
The Wales international rose highest to nod in Conor Hourihane’s corner delivery in a tense contest in SA1.
It was the defender’s fourth goal of the season, and stretched Swansea’s unbeaten home run to 13 league games.
Prime numbers
1 – Despite Swans’ impressive record against the Sky Blues, this is a fixture that is often won by a single goal. In the 30 times the clubs have met, only eight matches have been won by more than one goal. One of these was a dramatic 7-1 home victory for the Swans in 1952.
12 – Swans have gone 12 unbeaten against Coventry heading into Saturday’s contest, a record which stretches back to the early 1980s.
