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

Championship action returns to south Wales this Saturday afternoon as Swansea City welcome Watford for a tasty league fixture.

The Swans come into this game on the back of an impressive victory over Sheffield United, while the Hornets are also in good spirits after a narrow success over Queens Park Rangers.

Match preview

Swansea kicked off the new Championship season in very disappointing fashion, with the Welsh outfit managing just one shot on target in a 1-0 defeat to Middlesbrough away at the Riverside Stadium.

Alan Sheehan and his men were able to shake off the poor start, returning to winning ways just a few days later in the EFL Cup.

The Swans romped to a 3-1 victory over Crawley Town—a result which not only restored confidence but also sealed their spot in the second round of the competition.

Swansea enjoyed another high last weekend as the team picked up a 1-0 win over last season’s playoff finalists, Sheffield United.

With back-to-back home wins under their belt, Sheehan and his side will now be hoping to make it a hat trick when they host Watford.

Speaking of the Hornets, they too enjoyed a rather slow start to the new season, losing their first two competitive outings.

Paulo Pezzolano and his side began their campaign with a 1-0 defeat away against Charlton Athletic before backing it up with another loss in the EFL Cup.

Watford went down 2-1 at home against Norwich City, ending their cup campaign at the very first hurdle—their second first-round exit in three years.

Nevertheless, the Hornets were able to shake off their poor start and grab their first win of the new season away at QPR; Pezzolano’s men scored two goals in the opening 25 minutes as they powered to a 2-1 victory at Vicarage Road.

Their attention turns to Swansea this weekend as they look to bag their second straight win over the Welsh side this calendar year.

Swansea City Championship form:

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Swansea City form (all competitions):

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Watford Championship form:

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Team News

Swansea head into the weekend without Ricardo Santos, who is recovering from a knee injury and is not expected to return anytime soon.

Captain Ben Cabango missed much of pre-season due to a calf issue, though he did feature against Middlesbrough and Sheffield United.

Brazilian forward Ronald, who scored on his last two outings, is expected to feature and will be the main threat for Swansea on Saturday.

Watford, on the other hand, remain without Giorgi Chakvetadze as the Georgian continued to recover from a complex foot issue.

The playmaker is being lined up for a return next month, but he will have to remain on the sidelines as his side travel to south Wales.

Imran Louza had a busy game against QPR as he backed up his assist with a sending off; the red card means the Morocco international will not be available for selection.

Swansea City possible starting lineup: Vigouroux; Tymon, Burgess, Cabango, Key; Franco, Yalcouye; Eom, Galbraith, Ronald; Cullen

Watford possible starting lineup: Selvik; Bola, Abankwah, Keben, Ngakia; Kayembe, Sissoko, Kyprianou; Doumbia, Kjerrumgaard, Irankunda