Swansea City go into tomorrow’s EFL Championship game against Middlesbrough (3pm Swansea.com) looking to protect their very recent goals against record (two games none conceded) and in the search of more points. This fixture is most certainly one which can go some way to reassuring Swans fans the season is getting better.
The game will go ahead without on loan Brentford player Myles Peart-Harris who displayed some of his potential last Saturday in the 3-0 defeat of Blackburn Rovers. However, those brief glimpses have been just that in the main. It is expected South Korean, Eom (below) could step in and hopefully take his opportunity with Myles looking to be out with no diagnosis as to his injury to date. Since Eom returned from injury when on International duty late last year he hasn’t looked one hundred percent confident on the field of play.
That could mean a strategic change if interim head coach, Alan Sheehan thinks Eom isn’t the player to step up. He does have other options. Florian Bianchini will fancy the task. What he does possess is pace but his all round game needs to be far more effective, especially in front of goal and in his final pass.
The midfield seems to have a lot more bite about it since the departure of Matt Grimes, a blessing in hindsight as the Swans have Lewis O’Brien in a midfield role along with Franco. Despite not having the best of games in the away draw at Preston on Tuesday night Franco does perform very well on home soil. Both would fit into interim head coach’s explanation yesterday of what he wants from his squad. "Confident players that have character and resilience… then we have foundations to fall back on. This is the Championship, we understand the ups and downs of it and it's about being consistent in these moments."
Without a doubt both Franco and O’Brien ticked last weekend, and we can only hope they can do the same again in tomorrow’s fixture. The last two games have seen Zân Vipotnik start. That needs to continue, and we expect it to do so. A player like him needs starts to be a part of the example Sheehan mentioned above. That’s what every striker needs, confidence. Adding to that midfield bite is Ollie Cooper, now back fit and raring to go he has had a few cameo roles since returning from injury but now needs to be seen more often in this Swansea side. He missed seventeen games in recovery. We are hearing that Josh Ginnelly had a few niggles which kept him out of the midweek game at Preston. Fortunately Sheehan has addressed that before this game. "An Achilles rupture is probably one of the worst injuries that you can have and sometimes it takes a certain amount of time. But then when you're coming back you have other little niggles that are unexpected, but still should be expected because you're building up your body. I think we've got to get Josh to a place where he's consistently hitting that level”
All round fitness is required for Ginnelly now. The same can be said for Sam Parker, in discussions with Anthony Wright (U21 head coach) who is assisting Sheehan at this moment in time it has been decided that the youngster will feature in the age grade side more prominently. This to build him up to a level where he can be considered for the first team. His inclusion in the squad will happen though, but his overall plan is with the U21 side for now at least.
For Middlesbrough on loan Liverpool attacking midfielder Ben Doak, who has been a key player for them this season is most certainly out. His omission has coincided with Boro’s form dropping away this campaign. They sit below the Swans on recent form over six games. However, their last two matches have brought victories against Stoke City (1-3) and Derby County (1-0) Consistency has been the issue for a Boro side sitting in ninth place in the league on fifty points. You can understand why head coach, Michael Carrick still has thoughts of the play offs, they are just two points shy of the top six. After this game they will face QPR, Luton and Oxford.
We have spent a lot of time this year looking at the bottom end of the Championship but a review of the top is quite remarkable. You can see Boro in there fighting for what looks like sixth and fifth place, and then some huge gaps to the main contenders. Sunderland need some wins but above them the fight for the top two places rests with Burnley, Sheffield United and Leeds. It’s quite a difference in form and indeed quality. That isn’t reflecting in those sides who make it to the Premier League. The quality gap in the Championship is nothing compared to the top flight. It may be a dream for some clubs to reach those giddy heights, but the reality is year on year those who go up struggle so much they nearly always come back down.
That’s our Friday morning pre match round up here on the Indy. Later we will carry some new updates on the Swans manager hunt. Thanks for keeping up to date with the Indy.
⚽️ Watch Sheehan’s full pre match below.
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