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PREVIEW: Sunderland vs Swansea - How to watch, stat pack and referee

What do you need to know ahead of the game between Birmingham and Sunderland on Saturday?

Author:
Xander Turnbull
Publish date:
Feb 23, 2024 10:08 PM EST

Sunderland will be hoping to get back to winnings ways this weekend as they take on a struggling Swansea, at the Stadium of Light.

It will also mark the start of yet another interim spell in charge for Mike Dodds, who has stepped into the breach following Michael Beale's sacking.

So, what do we need to know about the game?

Mike Dodds - Interesting Sunderland team selections

The Opposition

Swansea have been struggling for form of late only having won one of their last seven matches, they are currently sitting in 18^th place only 4 points out of the relegation zone.

They lost at home last time out, a 2-1 defeat to promotion chasing Ipswich Town, all three goals coming in the first 35 minutes of game.

The Gaffer

Another game, and another new face in the opposition dugout. A month following the sacking of Michael Duff, new head coach Luke Williams was appointed.

Williams’ career as a player was fairly short, He undertook his first coaching job at the age of 29 when he was the head coach of Brighton’s Under-23s.

He then took up his role as assistant manager to Mark Cooper at Swindon in 2013 before taking over as manager in 2015. His unsuccessful stint at the County Ground ended in 2017 following the clubs relegation back down to League Two.

Williams then became the head coach Bristol City’s U23s before leaving that role in 2019 to become part of Russell Martin’s coaching staff at MK Dons and then Swansea. He left the latter in 2022.

On the 14^th of June 2022, Williams returned to management with National League side, Notts County.

He was awarded the Manager of the Month award twice in October and March of that season. He also helped Notts County break a few records along the way.

They earned a record-breaking 107 points in a season, scored a record 117 goals and went a record 25 games unbeaten. County went up via the play-offs after beating Chesterfield on penalties in the final.

The Squad

Despite having one of their biggest squads of late, Swansea are still finding themselves a bit thin on the ground due to ongoing injury woes within the team. They currently have seven players out with injury.

Of those who are fit, there are still plenty of players to look out for on Saturday.

Defenders Josh Tymon and Harry Darling are no slouches at defending, but they can also provide a threat in attack as well.

Tymon loves to get forward and drive at defenders and Darling is quite a threat in the air.

Matt Grimes and Jamie Paterson will be the players to look out for in midfield. Both have great ability on the ball and have a good passing ability.

Up front, January signings Ronald and Przemyslaw Placheta add pace and directness to Swansea’s play and striker Liam Cullen has proven he can score both in and outside the box this season, so he will also be another one to watch.

Earlier this Season

It finished 0-0 at the Swansea.com stadium, but the scoreline wasn’t as boring as it might suggest.

An early red card for Charlie Patino saw Sunderland dominate the game and have Swansea with their backs against the wall.

Despite that, Jamal Lowe had a chance to put Swansea in front from the penalty spot, but Anthony Patterson denied him.

The second half saw wave after wave of attack from Sunderland, but Swansea goalkeeper Carl Rushworth made save after save keeping the Black Cats at bay and earn his side a hard-fought point.

Who is the Referee for Sunderland vs Swansea

Keith Stroud is the referee for Sunderland vs Swansea, and it’s probably fair to say that he isn’t entirely popular among many fanbases up and down the country.

Swansea actually know him much better than most. He has not refereed any club in the country more than he has this week’s visitors to the Stadium of Light. This will be his 37^th game involving the Swans.

He is also one of the most yellow card-happy referees in the division, although he keeps his red card in his pocket much more often than not, to be fair.

He will be assisted by Andrew Dallison and Robert Merchant with Scott Tallis taking fourth official duties.

It’s fair to say that Stroud hasn’t exactly been a lucky charm for Sunderland lately.

In fact, the Black Cats have failed to win any of the last four games they played which had Stroud as the referee.

Those include the home game against Swansea City last season as well, when he sent off Luke O'Nien in the first half. That decision was completely correct, but he angered with several bad decisions on the day as well.

The Game in Numbers

7 – Swansea have conceded 7 goals before the 30-minute mark since Luke Williams took over as head coach.

37 – Sunderland and Swansea have faced each other a total of 37 times

10,388 – the amount of days Sunderland and Swansea went without playing each other between March 19^th, 1983, and August the 27^th 2011

Sunderland vs Swansea Stat Pack

As per the EFL website:

Sunderland have won just one of their last 13 league games against Swansea City (D6 L6), a 4-2 away win in January 2016.

Swansea are unbeaten in their last six away league visits to Sunderland (W3 D3) since losing 2-0 in January 2012.

Sunderland have lost each of their last two league matches, losing 1-0 to Huddersfield and 2-1 to Birmingham. They haven’t lost three in a row since October.

Swansea City have lost five of their last six Championship matches (W1), including each of their last two since a 1-0 win over Hull City.

Jack Clarke has scored 15 Championship goals this season for Sunderland – the last Black Cats player with more in a single Championship season was Marcus Stewart in 2004-05 (16).

How to watch Sunderland vs Swansea

Due to the 3pm blackout restrictions, Sunderland v Swansea will not be broadcast live in the UK.

For international users and those with a VPN though, it is available to stream on SAFC Live.