Leeds United v Swansea City Match Preview

Match: Leeds United v Swansea City A.F.C
Date: 31st August 2019
Time: 15:00 BST
Venue: Elland Road Stadium, Leeds, England

First things first, let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way. Beaten. By Stoke City. At home. On penalties. Moving on; Swansea City enter Elland Road riding on the coattails of a triumphant second round Carabao Cup victory against Cambridge United, with a first minute goal from Kristoffer Petersen setting the tone for the Swans 6-0 win. Second in the table Swansea’s form for their last 5 matches is identical to Leeds’ and United’s position in 1st could seriously be under threat for the first time in the season so far.

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Despite the narrow loss against Stoke on penalties, goals from new faces and dynamic duo Helder Costa and Eddie Nketiah in the second half certainly went a way to securing their places in the first team. Swansea boss Steve Cooper changed the entire starting XI for the Cambridge battering, much like Marcelo Bielsa, however is expected to restore the side that beat Birmingham City 3-0 in their last league tie.

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Leeds’ injured duo, forward and Wales international Tyler Roberts and defender Luke Ayling have been seen back in training this week however still have a long way to go before they’ll be fit enough to be back on the pitch. Marcelo Bielsa is also expected to revert to the XI that beat Stoke 3-0 in the league tie. Due to FA rules concerning the number of loanees on the bench it’s unclear whether Leeds academy product and recent Tottenham Hotspur signing Jack Clarke will be present, as the youngster has missed out the majority of first team fixtures this season.

As far as matching squads on ability goes, Leeds United and Swansea at this point couldn’t be a closer tie. You’d expect to see Spaniard Pablo Hernandez involved in some key assists as the player with the most assists in the championship so far but Swansea certainly aren’t going to lie back and make this easy. The form against Swansea at home is undoubtedly favourable for Leeds; they’ve won their last ten home ties against the Swans, so here’s hoping 11 peacocks can dominate 11 swans to make it 11 victories.