Preview | Swansea City v West Ham United
Swansea City get set to host West Ham United looking to extend their winning streak to five games in front of a sold-out crowd at the Swansea.com Stadium this afternoon.
Vitor Matos' side clinched three points in the week in east London thanks to Ronald's 90th-minute winner at The Den against Millwall to retain their place at the top of the table.
The Hammers are also among the early Championship pacesetters, lying four points behind the Swans. They produced a dominant win on Wednesday night, running out 6-0 winners over nine-man Lincoln City at the ProAmpac Stadium.
Team news
Stephen Eustaquio has returned to training with Swansea City but will continue to be assessed ahead of today's clash.
The 26-year-old midfielder picked up a shoulder injury while on international duty but has since rejoined the squad ahead of the Hammers’ visit to SA1.
Matos and his coaching staff will make a late decision on the Canada international’s availability.
Filip Lissah will miss the encounter through suspension, while Josh Key and Cameron Burgess remain sidelined.
Pre-match views
Vitor Matos: “We know which kind of opponent we’re going to face, but we respect them a lot. And in the same way, we believe in ourselves and in our way of playing.
“I think that’s what we want to have, a good game to compete, a good game to play. That’s why you play football. That’s why we’re here, and I think it will be a really good game.
“For us, the most important thing is what we can do every day. That’s what the players have been doing, and what they are focused on is really to try to improve, the challenge of making steps in terms of developing, trying to become better, trying to keep consistency while facing different opponents, and during different moments of the season.
“What I’ve seen a lot from my squad is that we can compete against any opponent. That’s what I’ve seen, and that’s what we want."
Nuno Espirito: "It's going to be tough - they are doing very well, so we expect a challenge.
"We have to compete. We know it's going to be tough, but we'll be ready.
"There's always pressure, so it was important to win on Wednesday.
"We are still trying to build momentum, and keep performing well."
Meet the officials
Josh Smith will be the man with the whistle when Swansea City face West Ham United at the Swansea.com Stadium this afternoon.
Saturday’s fixture will be the 11th Swansea City match Smith has officiated during his career, with the Swans’ memorable 4-0 south Wales derby victory over Cardiff City at Cardiff City Stadium in 2022 among them.
So far this season, Smith has taken charge of seven games, issuing 36 yellow cards and no red cards.
He will be assisted by Adam Nunn and Andrew Fox, with Tim Robinson appointed as the fourth official.
Remember the last time? - March 3, 2018
Swansea City 4 West Ham United 1
The last time the Swans hosted the Hammers was in a Premier League outing in 2018. Carlos Carvalhal's side put in one of their finest performances of the campaign as they recorded a seventh consecutive victory on home soil.
Ki Sung-yueng got the Swans off to a flying start, guiding a low finish into the bottom corner after being teed up by Andre Ayew.
The hosts doubled their advantage before the break when Mike van der Hoorn rose unmarked to head home Ki’s corner.
The first half was overshadowed by a serious injury to West Ham defender Winston Reid, who required lengthy treatment following a collision in a goalmouth scramble before being carried off on a stretcher and taken to hospital.
Carlos Carvalhal’s side continued to dominate after the interval. Andy King reacted quickest to turn home the rebound after Adrian had denied Andre Ayew, before Jordan Ayew made it four from the penalty spot after his brother was fouled by Cheikhou Kouyate.
Michail Antonio grabbed a late consolation for the visitors, but it did little to take the shine off a crucial three points for the Swans.
Swans: Lukasz Fabianski, Kyle Naughton, Mike van der Hoorn, Federico Fernandez (capt), Alfie Mawson, Martin Olsson, Andre Ayew (Nathan Dyer, 78), Ki Sung-Yueng, Andy King (Tom Carroll, 81), Sam Clucas (Tammy Abraham, 90), Jordan Ayew.
Subs not used: Kristoffer Nordfeldt, Kyle Bartley, Leon Britton, Luciano Narsingh.
Prime numbers
2 - West Ham have lost their past two away league games against sides from Wales and will be looking to avoid losing three in succession for the first time since September 1957.
3 - Swansea won their last league game against West Ham 4-1 in March 2018, last beating the Hammers twice in a row in the league in September 1957.
10 - With 23 points across their opening 10 Championship matches this season (W7 D2 L1), Swansea City are enjoying their second-best start to a Football League campaign. Only the 1923-24 season can better this term when they would have racked up 25 points had it been three points for a win rather than two during that era.