Preview | Swansea City v Queens Park Rangers
Swansea City host Queens Park Rangers at the Swansea.com Stadium this afternoon in their final match of the 2021-22 season (12.30pm).
Russell Martin’s side will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing trip to Nottingham Forest’s City Ground last weekend, while QPR will be hoping to finish the season on a high after suffering a disappointing run of seven defeats in their past 10 matches.
Three points for the Swans this afternoon would see them leapfrog their west London visitors in the final league standings.
Team News
The Swans boss has no new injury concerns ahead of Saturday’s Championship finale against Queens Park Rangers.
Defender Ben Cabango is an absentee with the ankle ligament injury he suffered in the draw against Bournemouth, but head coach Martin will have everyone else available for selection as he looks to round the campaign off on a winning note.
Pre-match views:
Russell Martin: "We want to finish off on a high for everyone connected with the club.
“We know we have to respond after what happened last weekend, we certainly do not want to finish the season in that manner given the hard work everyone has put in and the progress we have made.
“It’s important we sign off with a positive performance in front of our fans. We’ve spoken about the patience they have shown while we look to build something here.
“We have been on a good run, with one defeat in the last 10, and there have been signs of what we hope we are going to be as a team.
“We want to show that again and make sure we send everyone off into the off-season in a positive frame of mind.
“But for us the hard work will continue as we look towards a pre-season we feel will be really beneficial for us.”
Mark Warburton: "I will clear my desk, we’ll finish the game and that will be it. That is how football works, from my point of view I have to make sure everything is done here appropriately and professionally and that is it.
“I think the club is in a better place. The work environment here is good, but there is lots that can be done undoubtedly. But from my point of view I hope the supporters and staff can see that progress has been made.”
Remember the last time?
The Swans were dealt a bitter blow when the two sides met in April last year when an 89th minute Lyndon Dykes goal all but ended their hopes of automatic promotion.
It had been a relatively even contest with both sides hitting the woodwork: Wayne Routledge's deflected strike crashing against the upright, which also kept out QPR's Ilias Chair on two occasions.
The game appeared to be heading for a stalemate until Dykes controlled in the box, before drilling a low shot past a helpless Freddie Woodman.
Prime Numbers
7 – Since the 2008-09 season, the Swans and QPR have competed in the same league 10 times. Prior to that, they hadn’t met in a league fixture since 1981. Of those previous nine league campaigns, seven of them contained at least one draw between the teams with the home side winning the other fixture on six of the seven occasions. With January’s goalless draw between the two teams in mind, Swans will hope that that is a pattern which continues this afternoon as they seek to make it a seventh time in eight that the teams have played out a draw and a home win over a campaign.
9 – Jamie Paterson has chalked up nine assists in the current campaign, the most assists of anyone in the squad. Joel Piroe is second with six.
12 – It’s the league position currently occupied by QPR and the final top-half spot in the Championship – something technical development coach Matt Gill admitted was still in the side’s sights a few weeks ago. While victory for the Swans this afternoon would see them leapfrog the west London club, results elsewhere will ultimately determine whether that would be enough to finish in the top half of the table.