What to expect when Town travel to the Swansea.com Stadium this weekend
- Swansea City vs Huddersfield Town
- Saturday 2 December 2023; 3pm
- In depth analysis of Swansea City
Having been in the Sky Bet Championship for six seasons since their relegation from the Premier League at the end of the 2017/18 campaign, they had spent seven years in the top flight after going up in 2011 under Brendan Rodgers.
Town and Swansea City first crossed paths on Christmas Day in 1952, with the Terriers winning 3-0 at the old Leeds Road. With no wins in four against the Swans, Town still have the historical upper hand, winning 26 whilst losing and drawing 18 times each.
THE OPPOSITION
A season of change for Swansea City, the Welsh club underwent a summer coaching adjustment and have subsequently been active in the transfer market in an effort to give their new man the best possible start.
Michael Duff allowed four players to leave on loan with 19 more going permanently as 10 new players signed permanently and six more joined on loan. Still adding to the squad, winger Yannick Bolasie signed as a free-agent within the last week.
Currently sat in 18th place, the Swans have one point more than the Terriers on 20 having won five, drawn five and lost eight.
THIER MANAGER
Southampton came calling for Russell Martin in the summer, giving former Barnsley and Cheltenham Town coach Michael Duff the opportunity to take the reigns in South Wales ahead of the 2023/24 season.
A 20-year playing career saw Duff play for Cheltenham Town and Burnley, making almost 700 appearances in central defence. Coaching at youth levels with Burnley, he then spent four years with Cheltenham Town before moving to South Yorkshire with Barnsley, with whom he reached the Sky Bet League One Play-Off Final before departing.
LAST TIME OUT
Swansea are now four games without victory having lost 3-1 away to Leeds United in midweek, despite taking the lead in the opening minute of the game.
Having been pegged back inside four minutes, the home side took the lead in first half added time and put the game to bed on the hour, with Swansea unable to claw them back. With an even share of the ball, Swansea were unable to get back into the contest in the time remaining.
Previous Starting XI: Rushworth; Key, Cabango, Humphreys, Tymo; Fulton, Grimes; Cooper, Paterson, Lowe; Yates (4-2-3-1)
FORMATION
Duff began the season with a three man defence, shaping up that way for nine of the opening 10 games before switching to a flat back four. Not settled in a 4-2-3-1, the Swans haven’t deviated from that shape since the start of October for 10 straight games. Only winning one in their last seven, four of Swansea’s five wins this season came in consecutive games in which they switched between both three and four man defences, but they haven’t been as quick to make those adjustments since.
WHO TO WATCH
Carl Rushworth
On loan from Brighton and Hove Albion, 22-year-old Rushworth hails from Halifax and had spent some time in the Town Academy at the start of his career. Playing every minute possible in the Sky Bet Championship for the Swans, the young ‘keeper made his debut for the England U21s in the summer after impressing on loan with Lincoln City, having previously done well on loan with Stevenage, too. With four clean sheets to his name this season, he’ll be looking to add a fifth against Town this weekend.
Matt Grimes
28-year-old midfielder Matt Grimes has long been a staple in the middle of the park for Swansea, playing virtually every games possible since the 2018/19 campaign. Now the captain of the side, Grimes sets the tone in midfield and plays a metronomic role, recycling possession and keeping the ball moving as the side build slowly. Unafraid of making challenges, dangerous from set plays and the leader of the team, Grimes is a player that Town have to limit the involvement of to dampen Swansea’s threat.
Jerry Yates
Joining from Blackpool in the summer for a substantial fee, Yates has appeared in all but one of his new sides Sky Bet Championship fixtures, hitting the back of the net five times. Hailing from Doncaster, the 27-year-old scored 14 goals in 41 games last season for Blackpool, with 77 goals to his name in 274 career appearances to date. Quick off the mark and clinical when given chances, Town should be wary of Yates playing on the shoulder of the defence with the forward having scored one in five appearances against us in the past.
TOWN TEAM NEWS
Town Manager Darren Moore discussed all the latest from inside the physio room in his latest press conference from the Millers Oils High Performance Complex on Friday 1 December 2023. Watch back in full below!
KIT
With the Swans in all-white at home, the Terriers will line-up our all-black away kit in South Wales tomorrow!
Incredibly popular with supporters, you can still get your hands on our ‘Kit for the Community’ whilst stocks last by CLICKING HERE.
TICKET NEWS
Tickets for our trip to South Wales will be removed from sale at 2pm on Friday 1 December 2023.
Swansea City have confirmed that there will be no pay on the day at the Swansea.com Stadium, with the fixture being all ticket.
CLICK HERE for full ticket information.
iFOLLOW HTAFC
Due to the traditional Saturday 3pm kick-off time, video match passes for this fixture will not be available in the United Kingdom, but will be purchasable abroad.
Supporters who still want to follow every second of the game can purchase an audio match pass and not miss a second of the game!
CLICK HERE to find out more.
