Swansea host Rotherham in bid to reach automatic promotion places

The opening fixture after the international break sees Steve Cooper’s men take on the Millers at the Liberty Stadium.

With promotion glinting in Steve Cooper’s visor, it’s a key one against Championship yo-yo candidates Rotherham United and their boss Paul Warne.

The Swans come into it in a rich vein of home form, winning their last two in South Wales against Stoke and Blackburn Rovers by two goals to nil. On the road, it’s been more disappointing, but a solid home record is key to getting out of the Championship.

A home win for them will mark the first time since August 2019 that they have won three consecutive home games.

The opponents, who were promoted alongside Coventry and Wycombe Wanderers last season on Points Per Game (PPG), have had an indifferent start to their return, sitting in 19th on 12 points.

Paul Warne’s side have a dismal record away in Swansea, winning just one of their last 16 matches in South Wales in the Football League.

They aren’t in great form but did win against Preston North End last time out with Richard Wood and Matt Crooks on the scoresheet.

The Swans lost out to Norwich City, in a ding-dong battle which saw Tim Krul make several outstanding saves.

Team News

Swansea will be without Andre Ayew and Marc Guehi, who came back early from internationals due to fatigue. Ben Cabango is in line to return after missing the last two matches with a hamstring injury.

Veteran Kyle Naughton is likely to be involved after an injury scare, which will be a boost to Cooper.

The visitors have an ever-growing injury list, with Kieran Sadlier the latest addition after being forced off with an ankle issue in the win over Preston. Jamal Blackman could be fit after recuperating at parent club Chelsea over the international break, and Joe Mattock is in contention to return.

The Managers

“I’ve watched a lot of their games. Even the games they’ve not won, they’ve been really competitive. Some things have not gone their way. I looked at them against Norwich, and they went 1-0 up and it could’ve been two or three. They’ve picked up some good points already.” – Steve Cooper on Rotherham.

“The front three are really dangerous and the wing-backs put a lot of work in, they are a possession based team as they always have been, which is fundamentally how they’ve been playing for many years. They have threats all over the pitch, but that is no different to any other Championship team.

“These are the games that the lads should go out and enjoy, so we’ll go there trying to play on the front foot and try to cause them problems. They have got quality, but so have we, hopefully we can go down there and put in a good performance on the day.” – Paul Warne on Swansea.

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