Coventry v Swansea Competition - Sky Bet Championship Venue - CBS Arena Date - 21 September 2024 Kick off - 3pm Following their hard fought 1-0 home victory over Norwich, next up for Like Williams’ Swansea squad is a tough looking away trip to Coventry. Last Saturday, the Swans claimed a second Championship victory of the season as Amankwah Forson’s early own goal proved the difference against Norwich. The unfortunate Forson turned the ball into his own net as he attempted to cut out an Eom Ji-Sung pull-back. A lively contest brought further chances at both ends, with Goncalo Franco threatening for Swansea and Josh Sargent and Borja Sainz coming close to a Norwich equaliser. Norwich mounted a spell of sustained pressure for almost the first time in the closing stages, but the Swans held on for a hard-fought win. The home side’s resilience ensured Johannes Hoff Thorup’s Norwich were beaten in the league for the first time since the opening weekend. Swansea’s success means that they remain unbeaten on their own ground in the league this season, having banked seven points from their first three second-tier home games. The Swans climbed to 11th in the early-season table, with Norwich dropping to 15th. Whilst the Swans were beating Norwich, Tom Dele-Bashiru’s simple close-range finish earned Watford a point and denied wasteful Coventry City a second Championship victory of the season. Dele-Bashiru tapped the ball in at the far post after great work by the excellent Giorgi Chakvetadze midway through a much-improved second-half display that preserved Watfiord’s unbeaten home league run. Ellis Simms' early header was all the Sky Blues had to show for a hugely impressive and dominant first 45 minutes. Then, on Wednesday evening, Coventry lost 1-2 at home to Spurs in the Carabao Cup third round. Brennan Johnson scored a stoppage-time winner as two late goals helped Tottenham come from behind and paper over an underwhelming performance. Tottenham struggled for large periods and fell behind when Brandon Thomas-Asante gave the hosts a deserved lead, sweeping in Norman Bassette's low cross in the 63rd minute. But Djed Spence equalised for the Premier League outfit in the 88th minute after being put through by Dejan Kulusevski. Five minutes later, Johnson completed the turnaround with a composed finish after a fine through ball from Rodrigo Bentancur. The Swans have played Coventry on 37 previous occasions, winning 12, losing 12 and drawing 13. In the corresponding match last season, the teams drew 2-2 in an entertaining fixture, with a Liam Cullen goal from a direct free kick in injury-time earning the Swans a point: Turning to tomorrow, apart from Andy Fisher, Josh Ginnelly and Kristian Pedersen, who are all sidelined, Luke Williams had confirmed that: “We have no new injuries ahead of this game. a few players had bumps and bruises after the weekend, but nothing that is going to keep anyone away from the pitch at the moment. “The squad is in a good place, the mood in the camp has been good.” James Linington will be the man in charge tomorrow. The Isle of Wight official took charge of his first EFL match in 2008 – a League One encounter between Yeovil Town and Crewe Alexandra – and has since been promoted to Select Group 2, working mostly in the Championship. Linington has also been fourth official for a number of Premier League encounters. He first oversaw a Swansea match in 2009 – a second-round League Cup defeat to Scunthorpe United in which he sent off Garry Monk, Gorka Pintado and Angel Rangel – and has blown the whistle on a further 13 matches involving the Swans. He was most recently in charge of a Swans game for a 2-2 draw at Norwich in April 2024. On Saturday, Linington will be assisted by James Wilson and Hristo Karaivanov. Matt Corlett will be the fourth official. I’m hoping that Coventry’s midweek exertions, coupled with the disappointment of losing ‘at the death’ will mean that the Swans will return to South Wales with at least a point. I’m going for a 1-1 draw
Coventry haven't beaten us since 1981 a run of 17 games, 7 wins & 10 draws. Hopefully this continues. 1-0 Swans.
Luke Williams: “Last weekend was a properly, properly tough game, and we really earned the points. “I hope it gives us a base to build from, that’s certainly what we said to the players in the dressing room after the game last weekend. “I challenged the group because I felt we had started a couple of games poorly and been overwhelmed, and that is not an easy thing for professional footballers to hear. “It got the response we wanted, there was a lot of character from the players, some of whom are still settling in and adjusting to the Championship. “We now need to try to learn from our previous away games and how we can do better. We have had two 1-0 defeats against very good sides, so we have not been a million miles away. “But we need to be more resilient on the road, that is clear.” Mark Robins: "It’s nice to be back playing in front of the supporters again after Wednesday night. "I think they would have gone away thinking we played well and, whilst it was disappointing not to win - and it really was - on reflection you’ve done well against a top-six team. "Sport is sport, it is really unpredictable. You’re going to have ups and downs, but as long as you have a method and a way of working then eventually it comes good. “Some players may just need a breather. We will get on the training ground and have a look at them "We’ve had just over a day in recovery, so we will look at them and see how they are feeling and go from there really.”
Thanks Taff. This is a tough game but at a ground where we do well. I will be really pleased with a point, so like the majority it's 1-1 for me.
Josh Tymon returns to the Swansea City line-up as head coach Luke Williams makes one change for today's visit to Coventry City. The defender comes back into the side following illness as Kyle Naughton drops to the bench in the only alteration from the win over Norwich City. Lawrence Vigouroux continues in goal, with Tymon joining Harry Darling, Ben Cabango and Josh Key in the Swansea defence. Captain Matt Grimes once again links up with Gonçalo Franco and Ollie Cooper in midfield. In the final third Jisung Eom and Ronald will look to provide service for striker Liam Cullen. Coventry City: Oliver Dovin, Luis Binks, Bobby Thomas, Jack Rudoni, Jamie Allen, Haji Wright, Jake Bidwell, Brandon Thomas-Asante, Milan van Ewijk, Josh Eccles (captain), Norman Bassette, Substitutes: Ben Wilson, Jay Dasilva, Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, Ellis Simms, Ephron Mason-Clark, Ben Sheaf, Liam Kitching, Joel Latibeaudiere, Victor Torp. Swansea City: Lawrence Vigouroux; Josh Key, Ben Cabango, Harry Darling, Josh Tymon; Matt Grimes (captain), Gonçalo Franco, Ollie Cooper; Jisung Eom, Liam Cullen; Ronald. Substitutes: Jon McLaughlin, Jay Fulton, Joe Allen, Žan Vipotnik, Florian Bianchini, Myles Peart-Harris, Kyle Naughton, Nelson Abbey, Azeem Abdulai.
Fairly impressive start from us. They look pretty poor in defence - giving us plenty of time and space.
