By James Dow
SWANSEA City look to close the gap on the play-off places when they host Championship strugglers Birmingham City on Saturday afternoon.
It’s the Swans’ first match in two weeks after a 1-1 with fellow play-off hopefuls Queens Park Rangers.
Birmingham Meanwhile were in FA Cup replay action against Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday evening when they narrowly lost 1-0 in extra-time.
It’s also the first game since the closure of the January transfer window, a window the Swansea board, staff and fans will look to forget after being the only club in the league to not make a signing
Fans are questioning the ambition of Swansea’s American owners who have since come out and apologised for not getting any deals over the line.
The Swans sit in 12th place in the Championship and are currently four points off sixth place having picked up seven points in their last five games.
The Blues lie six points above the relegation zone in 19th place having lost their last five games.
The first meeting between these sides in November finished an exciting 2-2 draw courtesy of an 89th minute equaliser from Blues captain Troy Deeney, after goals from Olivier Ntcham and Matt Grimes gave the Welsh side the lead after an early goal from Scott Hogan.
Here's how this afternoon's visitors line up 👇 https://t.co/2cJr5CaF9q
— Swansea City AFC (@SwansOfficial) February 4, 2023
The Swans will be looking forward to having Morgan Whittaker back in the squad after his impressive loan during the first half of the season at Plymouth Argyle where he scored nine goals and registered seven assists in 25 league games.
Blues midfielder Gary Gardner will also be returning to league action for the first time since August due to a reoccurring calf injury from pre-season which has limited him to only 74 minutes in the league.
Swansea will however be without Welsh international Joe Allen who picked up a knock in training. They will also be without goalkeeper Steven Benda who is to undergo knee surgery after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in their last match at QPR.
The Blues will also be without four first team players with George Hall, Harlee Dean, Marc Roberts and captain Deeney all out injured for the away side. However, manager John Eustace expects all four players to be back in training next week.
Swansea will look to enjoy most of the possession tomorrow with them being top of the league when it comes to keeping hold of the ball.
However, they will have to be careful not to get caught on the counter attack due to the pace in the Blues attack with new signing Reda Khadra and Tahith Chong likely to cause an inconsistent Swansea defence problems.