Swansea City v Cardiff City
Competition - Sky Bet Championship
Venue - Swansea.com stadium
Date - 17 October 2021
Kick off - Midday
Following their 0-0 away draw at bottom of the table Derby County, next up for Russell Martin’s Swansea squad is a home match against local rivals Cardiff City.
Last Saturday, Derby managed to maintain their unbeaten home record courtesy of a goalless draw with the Swans.
Swansea took control of possession from the outset, yet for all their control and dominance of territory, they could not find a breakthrough.
Jake Bidwell went closest for a Swansea side who controlled much of the contest but was denied by Derby keeper Ryan Allsopp.
At the other end Tom Lawrence drew a triple save from Ben Hamer during a rare spell of home pressure.
Wayne Rooney's side remain bottom of the table after going into administration, though the stalemate means they have lost only one of their four games since being docked 12 points.
Swansea's fifth draw of the season - and fourth goalless Championship fixture - leaves Russell Martin's side 19th, with next opponents Cardiff 20th.
Whilst the Swans were drawing at Pride Park, Reading increased the pressure on Bluebirds’ boss Mick McCarthy with a 1-0 win that consigned the Cardiff to a fifth successive Championship defeat.
Winger Junior Hoilett, who played 184 games for Cardiff, thumped Reading ahead with their only shot on target.
Cardiff pushed hard for an equaliser but could not find a way past Luke Southwood as Ryan Giles hit the post.
Although Cardiff lost, Manager Mick McCarthy believed it was the best performance from the Bluebirds in weeks as they had 25 shots compared to Reading’s 2. However, as Swansea fans know only too well, it’s goals that count.
Excluding Welsh Cup matches and (so-called) friendlies, the Swans have played Cardiff on 70 occasions, with the Swans winning 29, losing 23 and drawing 18.
One interesting statistic is that neither side has been able to complete the League-double, will this season be the first time?
In the corresponding fixture last season, Cardiff denied the Swans the opportunity of being the first to achieve the feat by beating the Swans 1-0:
Turning to the upcoming fixture, this is a game that probably both Managers need to win: defeat for Cardiff would appear to make McCarthy’s position untenable, namely 6 successive Championship defeats with the latest at the hands of their South Wales rivals.
Similarly for Russell Martin - who has, in some respects, been cut some considerable slack by the Jack Army - defeat would see huge question marks raised about whether his possession-based game will actually produce a winning formula.
Furthermore, defeat for either side could, depending on the previous day’s results, put the losing team in the relegation zone.
As such, I’m expecting a hugely competitive derby, a game that neither side would want to lose - Yes, I know that that is always the case in these derby matches, but there is arguably more at stake given the League positions of both clubs and the question marks (Sword of Damacles?) hanging over both Managers.
Whilst I would love the Swans to run out comfortable 3-0 winners, I suspect that McCarthy and his team to do everything that they can to avoid a sixth successive Championship defeat, so I’m going for a hard-fought, blood and guts, 1-1 draw.
Competition - Sky Bet Championship
Venue - Swansea.com stadium
Date - 17 October 2021
Kick off - Midday
Following their 0-0 away draw at bottom of the table Derby County, next up for Russell Martin’s Swansea squad is a home match against local rivals Cardiff City.
Last Saturday, Derby managed to maintain their unbeaten home record courtesy of a goalless draw with the Swans.
Swansea took control of possession from the outset, yet for all their control and dominance of territory, they could not find a breakthrough.
Jake Bidwell went closest for a Swansea side who controlled much of the contest but was denied by Derby keeper Ryan Allsopp.
At the other end Tom Lawrence drew a triple save from Ben Hamer during a rare spell of home pressure.
Wayne Rooney's side remain bottom of the table after going into administration, though the stalemate means they have lost only one of their four games since being docked 12 points.
Swansea's fifth draw of the season - and fourth goalless Championship fixture - leaves Russell Martin's side 19th, with next opponents Cardiff 20th.
Whilst the Swans were drawing at Pride Park, Reading increased the pressure on Bluebirds’ boss Mick McCarthy with a 1-0 win that consigned the Cardiff to a fifth successive Championship defeat.
Winger Junior Hoilett, who played 184 games for Cardiff, thumped Reading ahead with their only shot on target.
Cardiff pushed hard for an equaliser but could not find a way past Luke Southwood as Ryan Giles hit the post.
Although Cardiff lost, Manager Mick McCarthy believed it was the best performance from the Bluebirds in weeks as they had 25 shots compared to Reading’s 2. However, as Swansea fans know only too well, it’s goals that count.
Excluding Welsh Cup matches and (so-called) friendlies, the Swans have played Cardiff on 70 occasions, with the Swans winning 29, losing 23 and drawing 18.
One interesting statistic is that neither side has been able to complete the League-double, will this season be the first time?
In the corresponding fixture last season, Cardiff denied the Swans the opportunity of being the first to achieve the feat by beating the Swans 1-0:
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Turning to the upcoming fixture, this is a game that probably both Managers need to win: defeat for Cardiff would appear to make McCarthy’s position untenable, namely 6 successive Championship defeats with the latest at the hands of their South Wales rivals.
Similarly for Russell Martin - who has, in some respects, been cut some considerable slack by the Jack Army - defeat would see huge question marks raised about whether his possession-based game will actually produce a winning formula.
Furthermore, defeat for either side could, depending on the previous day’s results, put the losing team in the relegation zone.
As such, I’m expecting a hugely competitive derby, a game that neither side would want to lose - Yes, I know that that is always the case in these derby matches, but there is arguably more at stake given the League positions of both clubs and the question marks (Sword of Damacles?) hanging over both Managers.
Whilst I would love the Swans to run out comfortable 3-0 winners, I suspect that McCarthy and his team to do everything that they can to avoid a sixth successive Championship defeat, so I’m going for a hard-fought, blood and guts, 1-1 draw.
