The Hatters head to South Wales for the second successive Saturday tomorrow when Nathan Jones and his team take on Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium.
The Town put last Saturday's 4-0 reversal at Cardiff City behind them on Wednesday night, when 1,000 supporters returned to Kenilworth Road to see goals from George Moncur, Matty Pearson and James Collins earn a 3-1 win over top-of-the-table Norwich.
That win lifted the Hatters back up to 11th place in the table with 22 points from 15 matches - a total that took 29 games to reach last season, the club's first back in the Championship.
Tomorrow's hosts, who lost in the play-offs last season, are four points better off in seventh position, but were beaten 2-1 in their last fixture at Middlesbrough on Wednesday night.
Nathan Jones said:
(Please note these quotes are taken from Nathan’s post-match press conference on Wednesday)
On his desire for a repeat of the midweek performance: "Yes, and what I hope is that we don't ever repeat the Cardiff one!"
On Swansea's threat: "They are a good side and two years ago they were in the Premier League. They had a good season under Graham Potter and a fantastic season under Coops when they got into the play-offs last year. They've signed well and want to build again this year, so they are a good side. But when have you ever stood there and said it'll be an easy one for you on the weekend in the Championship? There are no easy games, and everything is different. They play a different shape. They play a similar way, but they'll be a different shape, and coupled with an unbelievable journey that we'll have to face on Friday, there is no rest or respite. We've just got to plough on."
On George Moncur: "I make no bones about it, he would have a host of League One clubs wanting to take him. I said, ‘You can keep taking the easy option and going back to League One and being the best player in League One, or you can knuckle down, dedicate yourself and start impacting on the Championship.’ In the Championship you can't carry passengers, we can’t carry a passenger. George is now contributing massively out of possession and then still doing the things he is in possession, so now we’ve got a proper player on our hands.”
Who?
The Swans were relegated from the Premier League in 2018 after a seven-year stay, registering tenth and sixth place finishes in the Championship over the last two seasons ending in a play-off semi-final defeat to Brentford.
Swansea’s last piece of silverware came in 2013 as they were crowned League Cup winners, beating League Two side Bradford City in the final.
The Manager – Steve Cooper
The 40-year-old started his coaching career in Wrexham's academy before moving to Liverpool in 2008. Welshman Cooper became the Reds' academy manager in 2011, then joined the FA three years later, initially coaching the Under-16s before leading the U17s to 2017 FIFA U17 World Cup glory.
The former Wrexham, TNS, Bangor City and Porthmadog centre-half took over as Swansea head coach in 2019, after Graham Potter left to take over at Brighton.
Main threat – Andre Ayew
The 30-year-old Ghana international has six goals to his name so far this season for the Swans, plus two for his country in a friendly against Qatar.
The striker has vast experience of European football, having started his career at Marseilles where his famous father, Abedi 'Pele' Ayew, and brother Jordan also played.
Signed for Swansea initially in 2015, before a £20m transfer to West Ham in 2016. He returned to the Liberty two years later for almost the same amount, but spent time on loan at Fenerbahce in 2018-19. Has 91 caps for Ghana.
When and where?
Kick-off is 3pm at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday 4th December.
Man in the middle?
The referee for Saturday’s fixture is Leigh Doughty, who was promoted to the Championship for this season after one campaign taking charge of League Two and One matches. He has shown 27 yellow cards this term, but is yet to send a player off.
Played before?
The two sides last met in June at the Liberty Stadium in what was Nathan Jones' second game back in charge of the Town. A second-half James Collins header proved the difference on that day, as the Hatters picked up a vital three points towards The Great Escape with a 1-0 win.
In the reverse fixture at Kenilworth Road, Ayew scored a late goal to boost the Swans' promotion hunt.
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