Swansea City are in a state of disarray heading into their final pre-season friendly against Southampton at the Liberty Stadium.
The Swans will be looking to put their off-field issues behind them on Saturday against Southampton, who are unbeaten in their two friendlies so far.
Match preview
© Reuters
Last week's news of Steve Cooper stepping down from his position of manager rocked Swansea, with just one more week to go before their Championship opener against Blackburn Rovers.
Alan Tate remains in caretaker charge for now, and with reports of a couple of different candidates rejecting the Swans, they are running out of time to make an appointment.
There have also been suggestions of some key players possibly moving on, including captain Matt Grimes, who missed Wednesday's friendly against Forest Green Rovers.
Swansea won that match at the New Lawn 2-1 - thanks to goals from Yan Dhanda and 16-year-old academy product Ben Lloyd - following a win by the same scoreline versus Bristol Rovers.
Saturday's home match against top-flight opposition Southampton will provide a step-up in quality for the Welsh outfit ahead of the real thing beginning a week later.
© Reuters
Southampton seem far more settled heading into the new Premier League campaign, having brought in Romain Perraud from Brest and made Theo Walcott's loan move permanent.
Ralph Hasenhuttl's side have already played out a 1-1 draw with Fulham in pre-season and defeated Swansea's bitter rivals Cardiff City 4-0 in midweek.
The Bluebirds may not have been at full strength, but that was still an impressive result for the Saints in front of a small crowd at the Cardiff City Stadium.
All focus will be on their Premier League opener against Everton on August 14, but before then Southampton still have Swansea, Levante and Athletic Bilbao to face.
- W
- W
- D
- W
Team News
© Reuters
After scoring with his first touch in senior football, albeit in a friendly, Lloyd will be hopeful of earning a spot in Swansea's starting lineup this weekend.
Ben Cabango and Ollie Cooper made their first appearances of the summer against Forest Green, having returned from international duty and injury respectively.
Stand-in boss Tate will possibly rotate his side again this weekend, though with this being City's final friendly, a strong XI should be fielded.
Ryan Manning and Jay Fulton missed the midweek match through coronavirus protocols and their availability remains unknown.
As for Southampton, Moussa Djenepo and Che Adams impressed with goals from the bench against Cardiff and are in line for starts at the Liberty Stadium.
James Ward-Prowse and Stuart Armstrong played no part in the routine win through injury, and they are not expected to feature in this second of a South Wales double-header.
Hasenhuttl has more time on his hand compared to opposite number Tate when it comes to determining his preferred XI, so expect more experimentation here.
Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Hamer; Naughton, Cabango, Bennett, Bidwell; Lloyd, Smith, Dhanda, Cullen, Lowe, Whittaker
Southampton possible starting lineup:
Forster; Walker-Peters, Stephens, Salisu, Perraud; Romeu, Diallo; Redmond, Elyounoussi; Obafemi, Adams
We say: Swansea City 0-2 Southampton
Swansea may not be in the best of positions off the field, but they have won both official pre-season friendlies thus far.
However, this is a step-up in quality compared to the sides that they have faced so far, and the Saints looked in great form when putting four past Cardiff in midweek.
With that in mind, we are tipping Hasenhuttl's side to come away with a momentum-building win.
