Villarreal arrive at the Liberty this afternoon as the Swans close their pre-season friendlies with their only run out at the Liberty Stadium and the new season looking less than seven days away.

If we fast forward one week from kick off time today, the Swans will have finished their season opener at Old Trafford and the Premier League will officially be back underway again - the Swans fourth season at this level. And there will be some starting places up for grabs in that team giving some players the chance today to stake their claim for a place in the starting line up next Saturday.

Barring injury some of those places are already secured by players and I suspect we will see most of those guaranteed a start in action this afternoon but there are definitely some places up for grabs for those that want them I think at this point.

Most notably at centre half where Kyle Bartley looks the man favourite to line up alongside Ashley Williams given the almost certain departure of Chico Flores to join up with former manager Michael Laudrup; Jordi Amat was the man to which the Swans turned last season but Bartley for me leads the chase so it will be interesting to see how he performs this afternoon.

Bafetimbi Gomis is one that probably doesn't need to impress although the smart money is actually on him not starting next week given the scale and location of the game although we could yet be surprised with the selections of Garry Monk as he ponders his first Premier League selection of the season.

Jefferson Montero will get his first taste of action at the Liberty Stadium and he is another that has a chance of a full league debut next week so he will be keen to make the most of the opportunity to impress and seal his own fate for next Saturday.

I am generally one to believe that pre-season friendlies do not give you a great deal of an idea as to the current form of the team or much else as they are generally used for what they are - a chance to warm up and get some match time under people's belts but I have also believed that the last pre-season game is usually the one where you get the best feel for how the team may line up when the serious action starts next week.

For me it is my first glimpse of the team since the end of last season so it will be interesting to see the new signings in action particularly the return to the Liberty of Gylfi who I do think we could look back on in several months as one of the great pieces of business this summer.

Could be an interesting afternoon.

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