Preview: Swansea City vs Middlesbrough - prediction, team news, lineups

Middlesbrough will look to save their faltering Championship campaign on Monday, when they travel to play Swansea City at Swansea.com Stadium.

The 16th-placed Swans earned their 53rd point of the season when they drew 3-3 with Sheffield United on Friday, while Middlesbrough dropped to third after losing 2-1 against Millwall on the same date, remaining on 71 points.

Match preview

Swansea came back from 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 deficits against Sheffield United, arresting a streak of two consecutive defeats in the league.

While their stalemate saw them score more goals than they had in their prior four matches combined (two), they have now conceded eight times in their last three games.

Head coach Vitor Matos was not in charge when his side were beaten 1-0 by Middlesbrough in the reverse fixture in August 2025, but a win for his team would be just the club's second in 10 meetings with the visitors.

Swansea have only kept one clean sheet in six fixtures heading into Monday's clash, a period in which they lost four times and won twice.

Though the hosts suffered a 3-0 defeat against Coventry City on March 21, that was the club's only loss in their past 11 Championship contests at home, with the team winning on eight occasions.

Middlesbrough's loss against Millwall allowed their opponents to leapfrog them in the table, but they will feel they should have taken all three points considering they scored first, produced nearly 3.5 xG and limited the Lions to 0.86 xG.

Boro appear comfortable in the playoffs considering they are eight points in front of seventh-placed Southampton, but the club have taken just five points from their last five league fixtures, the joint 17th fewest in the second tier.

The visitors are in fact winless in four matches - two losses and two draws - and they managed to net just two goals in that stretch.

Kim Hellberg's side conceded four goals in those four games, but they have only kept opponents at bay three times in their 10 most recent league outings, keeping as many clean sheets as they had in their previous five clashes.

Middlesbrough rank third in the Championship for points taken on the road (35), and they have triumphed in five of their past seven away matches, losing just once in that time.

Swansea City Championship form:

Middlesbrough Championship form:

Team News

Swansea winger Zeidane Inoussa has been ruled out until the end of April, meaning Ronald and Melker Widell can be expected to support number nine Zan Vipotnik.

Midfielders Goncalo Franco and Marko Stamenic have started 34 and 25 Championship games repsectively, and there is little reason to doubt their inclusion on Monday.

Middlesbrough centre-back Alfie Jones is a doubt due to an ankle issue, and if he is unable to be part of the starting XI, Hellberg may call upon Adilson Malanda, Luke Ayling and Dael Fry.

Alan Browne and Aidan Morris started against Millwall, and considering they played well for large periods despite the defeat, they are set to be trusted once again.

Striker David Strelec has failed to score in his last four Championship games, and if he struggles to impact the match against Swansea, he could find himself replaced shortly after the half-time interval by the likes of Mamadou Kaly Sene.

Swansea City possible starting lineup:

Vigouroux; Ward, Cabango, Burgess, Tymon; Franco, Stamenic; Ronald, Yalcouye, Widell; Vipotnik

Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:

Brynn; Ayling, Malanda, Fry; Brittain, Browne, Morris, Bangura; McGree, Conway; Strelec

We say: Swansea City 2-1 Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough created enough chances to beat Millwall last time out, but their poor overall record in front of goal cannot be ignored.

The visitors will also be facing a team that have often flourished at home, so it would not be surprising if Swansea managed to claim another three points.

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