How Swansea will set up against Sunderland and what Tony Mowbray’s side can expect in Championship fixture

The Swans beat Sunderland 2-1 when the sides met in South Wales back in October but have slipped to 15th in the Championship table, winning just one of their last five league games since the World Cup break.

Still, they are just three points behind Sunderland and four points off the play-off places with just under half of the season remaining.

Martin has also said his squad don’t have any fresh injury concerns following their 1-1 draw at Bristol City in the FA Cup last weekend.

To find out more we caught up with Steven Carroll from the Swansea Oh Swansea fanzine to ask about how Sunderland’s next opponents are shaping up:

How have Swansea been playing recently?

SC: “Hit and miss, a bit like the whole season. Wins over Watford and even though we lost to Burnley we played well but at Reading we were awful. That Watford win is our only one in eleven so we need to change that.”

How will they approach the game at the Stadium of Light?

SC: “We don’t tend to change our style, so we’ll look to dominate possession but probably won’t create a huge amount of chances in spite of that. We’re not the type of side that plays for a point though so it could be open.”

What system are they likely to play?

SC: “Good question. It’s usually been 3-4-2-1 this season but we’ve recently changed to more of a 4-4-2 and it worked better so I’m hoping we stick with it. Our options aren’t huge at the moment so I think we’ll set up that way.”

We saw Swansea earlier in the season, but who are the key players to watch out for?

SC: “Joe Allen has been back on form after recovering from injury. Matt Grimes is as consistent as they come. Joel Piroe hasn’t been on form recently but has scored four since the World Cup so he’s still a threat.”

What’s your predicted line-up?

SC: “Benda, Latibeaudiere, Darling, Cabango, Manning, Allen, Fulton, Grimes, Cooper, Cullen, Piroe.”