Swansea City and Preston North End meet on Saturday afternoon each looking to respond to opening-weekend defeats in the Championship.
However, both teams got back on track in the EFL Cup in midweek, providing them with something to build on ahead of the game in South Wales.
Match preview
© Imago
A trip to Middlesbrough for the first game of the season was always going to be a tough ask of a Swansea side that are now more settled under Luke Williams.
That said, there would have been an element of frustration to only lose 1-0 courtesy of a first-half penalty, leaving Williams hoping for a response against Gillingham.
Swansea duly recorded a 3-1 victory om home territory, albeit helped by a sending off for the visitors early in the second half.
Gillingham did halve the deficit with 10 men, something that would have irked Williams, yet his side put the game to bed just three minutes later.
Although Swansea concluded last season with a 1-0 home defeat to Millwall, they posted wins and clean sheets against Stoke City and Rotherham United in the previous games.
As for Preston, the departure of manager Ryan Lowe has created uncertainty at Deepdale, chairman Peter Risdale saying that the club will not rush the process of finding a replacement.
After the 2-0 reverse against Sheffield United in their opening Championship fixture, Preston were left with a tough EFL Cup tie versus Sunderland.
Nevertheless, in his first game in caretaker charge, Mike Marsh witnessed his team come through with a 2-0 victory, the goals coming either side of half time.
Preston had previously gone six competitive fixtures without avoiding defeat, highlighting that such a result could prove pivotal in the short term as they bid to make up ground on the teams above them.
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Team News
Ronald is pushing for a start in the Swansea final third having gotten on the scoresheet against Gillingham.
Liam Cullen will also be restored to the attack having also found the target, taking the place of Zan Vipotnik who made his debut in that game.
Marsh may be against making any alterations to a winning Preston XI having made numerous changes after the Sheffield United defeat.
That would see the likes of Stefan Thordarson and Sam Greenwood have to make do with a spot among the replacements.
Ali McCann may return to the substitutes' bench after a calf injury.
Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Vigouroux; Key, Cabango, Darling, Tymon; Grimes; Eom, Fulton, Franco, Ronald; Cullen
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; Potts, Ledson, Whiteman, Frokjaer-Jensen, Brady; Keane, Riis
We say: Swansea City 2-1 Preston North End
Having gotten the better of Sunderland, Preston will believe that they can build on that success. However, Swansea's greater stability under Williams could prove key here, leading us to predict a home win.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Darren Plant
![Jack Robinson of Sheffield United during the Sky Bet Championship match Preston North End vs Sheffield United at Deepdale, Preston, United Kingdom, August 9, 2024 [on August 11, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/11/29/1x1.gif?w=1&h=1 "Jack Robinson of Sheffield United during the Sky Bet Championship match Preston North End vs Sheffield United at Deepdale, Preston, United Kingdom, August 9, 2024 [on August 11, 2024]")
