⚽️ LIVE RADIO COMMENTARY & PREVIEW
🎙 Swansea travel to the Hawthornes to face West Brom
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Preview written by Dan Perkins, Radio City Lead Football Commentator:
Round Two of the Championship season sees a rejuvenated Swansea looking to continue their excellent run against the Baggies, having won all four of the previous meetings.
Michael Duff’s side have made a decent start to the season. A home draw against Birmingham City on the opening day, which included a debut goal for Jerry Yates, and a comfortable victory over Northampton Town in the Carabao Cup has given the Swans supporters plenty of positivity heading into this one.
That win over the Cobblers saw Joel Piroe grab his 50th goal in senior football as he bagged a brace, while Josh Ginnelly could well have scored the goal of the season in his debut outing.
Michael Duff may only have been at the club for a couple of months, but he is already leaving his mark on the team with a plethora of new faces and more to come, the squad is taking shape nicely.
Ntcham’s exit isn’t confirmed, though he is all but out of the door, which leaves space for others to come in. Charlie Patino is one of them, joining from Arsenal on loan after a spell at Blackpool last year, and there is hope he will be followed by at least two more additions in the defence.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes issues with West Brom’s absent owners are still causing the Baggies problems. Their manager, Carlos Corberan would have been happy just to get the season underway.
However, defeat at Blackburn 2-1 on the opening day, including his dismissal after two yellow cards wasn’t exactly the start he would have desired. This also means the Spaniard was the first manager to be impacted by new legislation in which he was not able to take part in his post-match media duties following his sending off.
To add to the misery, they were also defeated in the first round of the Carabao Cup at Stoke by the same scoreline, and to top it off, midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah got into a heated exchange with his own supporters at half-time and took to twitter to make his apologies.
This game marks the first opportunity for the Baggies fans to see their side on home soil, and it may be the boost they need to kickstart their season.
There are always goals between these two sides, 15 across the last four, all of which have gone Swansea’s way. The last time West Brom beat the Swans was back in December 2019 in a 5-1 thumping here at The Hawthornes.
Team News
With a switch to a back three not having the desired effect against Stoke, Corberan may revert to the 4-2-3-1 formation from the Blackburn game. John Swift could potentially be restored to West Brom’s midfield, potentially taking on the number 10 role, while Kyle Bartley is pushing for a recall in defence. New arrival Josh Maja is pushing to earn a spot among the replacements after sitting out the opening two fixtures through a lack of fitness.
Despite Ginnelly’s outrageous goal in midweek, it will likely not be enough to convince Duff to tinker with his starting lineup. Although Joe Allen came through an hour against Northampton, the midfielder is expected to be named on the substitutes’ bench for this fixture.
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup:
Palmer; Furlong, Ajayi, Bartley, Townsend; Yokuslu, Molumby; Wallace, Swift, Phillips; Thomas-Asante
Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Rushworth; Ashby, Darling, Cabango, Wood, Key; Fulton, Grimes, Paterson; Yates, Piroe
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