Preview: Swansea City vs. Bristol City - prediction, team news, lineups

Swansea City play host to Bristol City on Saturday afternoon looking to end their poor start to the new Championship campaign.

While the winless Swans sit in 20th position in the standings, Bristol City are in 14th spot having accumulated three more points than their hosts.

Match preview

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Like many clubs in the Championship, Swansea are going through a transitional period until it becomes apparent which players will join and leave during the final days of the summer transfer window.

New boss Michael Duff has already witnessed key player Joel Piroe link up with Leeds United, yet that is not the solitary reason why the Welsh side are yet to win in the league.

Both points have been claimed from losing positions - against Birmingham City and Coventry City - but five goals have been conceded on their travels at West Bromwich Albion and Preston North End respectively.

With their only clean sheet in six matches coming against Northampton Town in the EFL Cup, Swansea will not make progress from last season unless they become more resilient in defence.

Although claiming maximum points against Bristol City is the priority, Duff will sense an opportunity to finally keep a shutout in the Championship.

Bristol City have scored just three times in their opening four league matches, failing to score more than once in any of those games.

On the flip side, Nigel Pearson's side possess one of the best defences in the division, shipping just four strikes and conceding more than once on just one occasion.

Nevertheless, the feeling is that the Robins require a greater balance, with none of their goals coming in the first half and their solitary victory at Millwall achieved courtesy of a last-gasp winner.

While Pearson will be content with keeping Bristol City in contention for the top six at this stage, a spark is required in the final third, rather than largely relying on Nakhi Wells.