by Adam Cleary
AFTER 12 days without a game in the Sky Bet Championship Swansea return to league action with a home game against Nottingham Forest tonight at the Liberty Stadium
In the 12 days without a league game the Swans have slipped to fourth place but have three games in hand on third place Watford who are currently one point ahead of them and have two games in hand on the top two – Norwich and Brentford who remain five and four points ahead of the Welsh club.
Forest on the other hand currently occupy 17th place and are suffering a disappointing season by their standards. Swansea famously beat Forest to the the final Championship Play Off place on the final day of the 2019/20 season and both teams have gone in opposite directions since.
The sides have already met on two occasions this season with Swansea coming out on top 1-0 at the City Ground in the league fixture, before winning an FA Cup 4th round tie 5-1 at the Liberty Stadium just last month. Despite this, Swansea Head Coach Steve Cooper is under no illusions about the threat Forest will pose to his side.
“This is a completely different game. They’re a very strong squad. They’ve been in good form in terms of results and performances. The previous two games will have no bearing on this one. We’re coming up against one of the strongest squads in the league.”
Nottingham Forest manager Chris Hughton who took charge in October 2020 following Sabri Lamouchi’s sacking was full of praise for Swansea who now boast the longest current unbeaten stretch in the division following Brentford’s loss to Barnsley on Sunday.
“They are a really good side. There are some teams which are very strong defensively or very strong offensively, but they are both. They have a way of scoring goals, but they are also very resolute and get back in numbers. They are a very hard team to break down, but are also an expansive side.”
Sarah Clapson who is the Nottingham Forest correspondent for the Nottingham Post had this to say ahead about Forest in recent weeks and about tonight’s game, “ There are definite signs of progress, there were a few frustrations that they didn’t take all 3 points against Bournemouth on the weekend which shows how far they’ve come.”
“ Tonight will be their toughest test for a while, though. I can see it being a close game. Swansea don’t concede many goals, so Forest will need to be clinical with any chances that come their way. They will also need to be tight at the back if they are to come away with anything.”
“I think it will be very different to the FA Cup game as it will be a completely different Forest line up out there. The reverse league game was far closer and Forest have improved since then, so think they could claim what would be a very good point. I’ll go for a 0-0 draw”.
Swansea know that three points could go a long way in the race for promotion and will be determined to build on their home record which has only seen them lose once at home in the league all season.
Kick off at the Liberty is at 7pm.