Our Swansea City team played a significant role in the evolution of British football."

Not my words, though it is something I would say. Those words belong to Chris Davies, the opposing manager this Saturday. Once an assistant to Brendan Rodgers at Swansea City, he could easily be sitting in the home dugout.

Football is full of "what ifs", and Davies twice came close to becoming our full-time manager. Once to succeed Russell Martin, and then a second time to succeed Michael Duff. The solid interest was enough for BBC Sport Wales to write a full profile. It seemed to be a very good fit at the time - since Roberto Martinez Swansea have found success with young, ambitious managers, he had worked with the club before, was building a reputation as a studious and analytical coach, and he would be following in the late Kenny Jackett's footsteps as a Watford-born Welsh manager. (Below)

Swansea's loss was Birmingham's gain. Being the biggest club in League One does not guarantee success - just ask Russell Martin right now - but Davies would create a new EFL record by romping home with 111 points. Ever since Knighthead Capital Management took over in 2023, ambitions are very high at Birmingham City. So high that there was an unspoken requirement to press for the play-offs last season. In the end, City finished a respectable 10th in the table, ending with 64 points, the same as the Swans but with a three-goal better goal difference. Skip forward to the present day, and the teams are once again level on points.

However, this time, the goal difference is at eight in the Blues' favour, with more goals and fewer conceded. This goes to show how difficult tomorrow's game will be. While the Swans are in a worrying dip, the opposite is true for the home team. Since losing to Norwich in early September, they have won six in eight, and also scored at least two goals in six of those games.

In their last outing against Millwall, they scored 3 goals in a comprehensive win. Left-back Alex Cochrane scored within the first minute, while in the previous game against Lincoln City, striker August Priske scored after 16 minutes. If you look back a couple of weeks, fans were complaining about slow starts. This seems to have been solved, and with memories of being 3-0 down within a quarter of an hour still very fresh, the Swans will have to be very wary of an early onslaught.

As reported by the Indy, Vitor Matos is boosted by the availability of Stephen Welsh, Eom, and Moussa Yeo. Despite the recent troubles, the Portuguese manager is enjoying a very good season and is attracting attention from top-flight clubs. CNN Portugal reported an interest from Sporting Lisbon, and just in case you doubted what a huge club Sporting Clube de Portugal are, they just poached Paulo Fonseca from Olympique Lyon, a team currently sitting third in Ligue 1.

The Swans have a horrendous record against the Blues, having not won since August 2019. To change that, Matos' team selection needs to be right. Assuming Welsh is fit, the defence will likely be the regular back four, but the striker and midfield composition is very much unknown. Using Melker Widell on the left did not work against Portsmouth, so it will be Eom or Yeo up against ex-Jack Ethan Laird.

Laird had a successful loan spell at Swansea back in 2021, which means tomorrow a player and manager have fond memories on the Welsh coast. It is always nice to read the impact Swansea City has had on a player or staff member. Who knows, maybe Davies' time will come to take charge of the Swans. As a young, talented Welsh manager - especially one without a famous playing career to rely on - I wish him well. But not for this Saturday.

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