Swansea City

Norwich City will look to stop the rot when they visit Swansea City on Saturday (15:00 BST).

The Canaries have failed to win any of their past seven games, losing the last four in succession, to place themselves in the bottom three.

Though Swansea have not won in their past three and will also be keen to find that elusive victory.

• Swansea City have lost just one of their last five league games against Norwich City (W3 D1), though that sole defeat did come in their last such meeting, a 5-1 loss at Carrow Road in January this year.

• Norwich City have lost five of their last seven away league games against Swansea City (W2), failing to score in four of those defeats.

• Swansea are winless across their last five home league games (D3 L2); their longest run since December 2023 (6 games – D3 L3).

• Norwich have lost each of their last four league games in succession, last losing five in a row in the Championship in November 2016.

• Norwich have failed to score in three of their last four league games, and could fail to score in three successive matches for the first time since May 2022 (run of four).

Image source, Huw Evans Agency

Swansea City host Queens Park Rangers on Wednesday (19:45 BST) with Alan Sheehan believing the Championship has not yet "settled down" this season.

Swansea will be close to a quarter of the way through the 2025-26 campaign after their meeting with Rangers.

But in a division which looks more open than has been the case in recent years, Sheehan believes the majority of clubs are still buoyed by early-season optimism.

"You go through the results most weeks in this league - it's not settled down," Swansea's head coach said.

"I think the floor of the league is slightly higher this year with the competition, while there's probably 15 teams within the league that think that if they make a push, they can be in a decent place.

"It's a really competitive league."

Swansea and are among the clubs hoping there are good times ahead having made solid starts to the season.

Image source, Getty Images

Rangers began slowly, taking only one point from their first three games under new boss Julien Stephan (pictured above), but then embarked on a six-match unbeaten run which included four victories.

That rousing sequence came to a halt last weekend as they were beaten 2-1 at home by Millwall.

Swansea, meanwhile, have struggled for consistency, winning three, drawing four and losing three of their league matches this season.

"Every game that you go into right now, you're coming up against teams – both us and them - where they feel like if they get it right, they can win the game, so the competition is good," Sheehan added.

"QPR's games are very tight all the time. It's a difficult game, but one that obviously we want to be going in and getting points from."

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Manuel Benson is a doubt for Swansea City's Championship meeting with Queens Park Rangers on Wednesday (19:45 BST).

The on-loan Burnley winger was absent from last weekend's goalless draw at Southampton and could again miss out as Swansea return home to face QPR.

Sheehan has few other concerns, though Zeidane Inoussa is among a handful of players nursing knocks following the Saints draw.

"A few guys have niggles, obviously Manuel missed the game the other day with a tight hamstring and so we'll have to have a look at that," Swansea's head coach said.

"Zeidane and one or two more just picked up little bumps so we'll make a decision ahead of the game."

Sheehan is likely to consider making some changes to freshen his team up, who will be in action at home when Norwich City visit this Saturday.

They also host Manchester City in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, 29 November as part of a run of seven games in 21 days.

Queens Park Rangers will look to bounce back from their London derby defeat as they cross the border to visit Swansea City on Wednesday (19:45 BST).

The Hoops conceded their first home loss under boss Julien Stephen when Millwall took a 2-1 victory at Loftus Road on the weekend.

But the side have fared better than any other Championship team on the road in recent times and with Swansea finding themselves in a bit of a tricky spell, the visitors could find themselves keeping in contention with the promotion contenders.

• Swansea City completed a league double over QPR last season; only from August 2012 to December 2014 have they ever won three league meetings in a row over the London club.

• QPR have won three of their last five league visits to Swansea (L2), although lost this exact fixture last season 3-0.

• Swansea are winless in four home league games (D3 L1), last going longer without victory between October and December 2023 (6).

• Since the start of April, no side has earned more away points in the Championship than QPR (16 – P8 W5 D1 L2).

• QPR have won eight of their last 11 away league games against Welsh clubs (D1 L2), including four of their last five (L1). They've kept seven clean sheets during that time.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Head coach Alan Sheehan called for more creativity from his side after Saturday's goalless draw at Southampton - but will it be enough to forge a promotion push.

Heading into the midweek visit of Queens Park Rangers, Swansea are 13th in the Championship - four points below the play-offs.

We asked supporters if they thought the Swans are genuine top-six contenders.

Here's a selection of your responses.

Nigel: No. Without a prolific goal scorer and right back. The squad still lacks quality in options. Midtable at best.

Richard: I really cannot see the Swans finishing in the playoffs. They were lucky not to concede at Southampton who hit the bar and post - and yet again we didn't score. As I have said in the past, a top-half finish is more realistic unless the Swans start scoring more.

Robert: We appear to have a strong squad on paper, however are we not being clinical enough in the final third. If we improve on this in the coming months then we have a chance. If not then it will be another season finishing middle of the table.

Alex: Absolutely not! Still lacking in the final third. Is it me, or have we gone to a long ball style now?

Joel: I think the next two games would prove that. If they're both convincing home wins, Swansea will be capable of targeting top six. Creating chances is the final thing that needs to mastered, as we've already proven that when they are created, we have clinical goalscorers (looking at you Vipotnik!).

Clare: The squad is capable of gaining promotion but is Sheehan the right man to take us forward?

David: Yes. Great manager, squad and supporters who back the team. Nicely positioned to move on.

Swansea City head coach Alan Sheehan reflects on his side's 0-0 draw with Southampton in the Championship.

Match report: Southampton frustrated in Swansea stalemate

Swansea City are currently 13th in the Championship after their goalless draw against Southampton.

They have now won one Championship game in six and head coach Alan Sheehan says his side "need to create more chances" if they are to improve on their record.

The result leaves them four points from the play-off positions and although it is still early on in the season, are they genuine play-off contenders?

Have your say here

Gareth Vincent
BBC Sport Wales

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Alan Sheehan insisted he had an unfamiliar feeling as Swansea City emerged with a point at Southampton on Saturday.

It was Swansea's fourth Championship draw this season after Watford (1-1), Hull City (2-2) and Millwall (1-1).

But Southampton was different from the rest, Sheehan argued, because it was the first time his team had not been "massively in the ascendancy".

That is a debatable point given that Watford, Hull and Millwall all gave Swansea problems in stages.

But what is not in question is that this weekend's backs-to-the-wall stalemate at a club who were in the Premier League last season felt much more like a win for Swansea than any of their three home draws in 2025-26.

Hull, in particular, was galling given that the Tigers equalised following a set-piece in the seventh minute of added time.

Millwall was also irritating for Swansea given that they were in front only to concede a set-piece goal seconds before half-time.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

But the fact is that Swansea might have beaten Watford, Hull and Millwall had they produced more quality in the final third – and that has been a common issue throughout this season.

Sheehan's Swansea side have been largely solid, but improvement going forward is required if they are to mount a play-off push this season.

The need for better was highlighted at Southampton, where home goalkeeper Alex McCarthy eased through one of the quietest afternoons he will have all season.

"We need to get to a place where we are more fluent when we are attacking and we are creating more chances," Sheehan acknowledged.

"At times this season we have done it with ease. We've got into wonderful positions and left some points behind."

But not at Southampton. After Saturday's point gained, Swansea's attention turns to successive home league fixtures against Queens Park Rangers and Norwich City.

The expectation for Sheehan's team will be to offer much more going forward in each of those games.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Alan Sheehan felt Swansea City "showed another side" of their capabilities as they held on for a point at Southampton.

Saints dominated Swansea but wasted a host of big chances, most notably when Caspar Jander struck the post from point-blank range late on.

Swansea created almost nothing going forward, but Sheehan hailed his team's efforts as their resilience combined with Southampton's wastefulness saw the Welsh club come away from St Mary's with a positive result.

"We haven't had many games like this. All the draws we've had have felt like losses because we've been massively in the ascendancy," Swansea's head coach said.

"In fairness, I think this is a good point. With the ball we didn't create anywhere enough. We turned it over in bad areas and we tried to get a breather on the ball instead of hurting them.

"But in terms of a defensive display, going to the very end, I think this is the resilience and type of character you need in this league.

"You need to be able to show that side. We knew it was going to be difficult and we have shown another side to us today."

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Swansea had seven shots compared to Southampton's 21, while the home side's XG was 3.26 compared to only 0.21 for Sheehan's men.

The draw means Swansea have won only once in six league games – though that run includes just two defeats – and remain mid-table in the Championship.

"We have arguably played better with the ball in most of the games this season and defensively until we tweaked a couple of things, we weren't getting enough pressure on the ball high up the pitch," Sheehan added.

"But I am very proud of the lads because of the resilience they showed and the fact that we have come out of here with a point."

Southampton was the first of seven games in 21 days for Swansea, who return to action with a home fixture against Queens Park Rangers on Wednesday.

Image source, Getty Images

Alan Sheehan hopes "diamond" Eom Ji-Sung can ignite his season having netted his first goal of the campaign for South Korea during the international break.

The 23-year-old wide midfielder is yet to score in 11 appearances across all competitions for Swansea City this season.

But he got his 2025-26 account up and running with the opener in a 2-0 friendly win over Paraguay.

And Swans head coach Sheehan feels the wideman is closer to reaching his best levels after injury disrupted his pre-season.

"Ji-Sung missed all of pre-season and then it was about getting him up to speed. I think he showed some flashes of the form that he was in last year, especially at the end of the year where he was outstanding," said the Irishman.

"I think he had a good game against Leicester. Then he played, obviously a lot of travelling back, so he's not been on the grass with us yet, so he's on his second day of recovery.

"I don't know the time zones and that, so he'll be back in with us tomorrow (Friday). But absolutely delighted for him to score to give him that confidence and Ji Sung is an excellent player.

"It took him time to adapt to the level which is expected. He's a wonderful person, he's great to work with, he really is.

"He's a diamond of a lad and he is somebody that we have high hopes for and we know that there's definitely more to come from him."

Swansea City's Josh Tymon reflects on his time at the club and his future.

Swansea City head coach Alan Sheehan reflects on the international break and looks forward to his side's Championship game at Southampton on Saturday.

Southampton host Swansea City on Saturday (12:30 BST) as they look extend their unbeaten run (W1 D2) to a fourth game.

The season hasn't unfolded as well as the Saints would have liked so far, finding themselves 17th on the table and with work to do to make up the eight points they lag behind pace makers Coventry City.

Swansea, meanwhile, had a good start but have only won one of their past five league games (D2 L2), leaving them three points under the top six.

• Southampton have won each of their last three league matches against Swansea City, last winning four on the bounce in August 1935.

• Swansea City have won just one of their last 15 away league games against Southampton (D3 L11), while they've failed to score on their previous three trips.

• Southampton are unbeaten in their last three Championship matches (W1 D2), their best unbeaten league run since going four without defeat in April 2024 under Russell Martin.

• Swansea City have won four of their last seven away Championship matches (L3), as many as they'd won in their previous 17 on the road (W4 D4 L9).

• Southampton have the second best xG in the Championship this season (15.5), but they have only scored 11 goals, underperforming by 4.5 goals. Only Sheffield United have a worse ratio this season (-6.7).

Image source, Getty Images

Alan Sheehan is heading back to the club where he spent "half an hour" on the coaching staff hoping Swansea City will put up a better fight than on their previous league visit to Southampton.

Swansea return to action after the international break with a lunchtime kick-off at St Mary's on Saturday.

For Sheehan, the fixture means a reunion with former employers.

The Swansea boss spent three months as Southampton's first-team coach during Nathan Jones' brief stint in charge of Saints in the 2022-23 Premier League season.

And while his spell at Southampton was short, Sheehan says it taught him plenty.

"I took so much learning out of it, going into a football club in the Premier League and understanding what you need to do and what you have to do," he said.

"Obviously the level of the league was incredibly high. It was a very short period, but it's something and somewhere that I took a lot of learning from."

Sheehan is preparing to return to Southampton as a full-time head coach for the first time having led Swansea on their most recent league trip there.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

That came in December 2023, when Sheehan was in caretaker charge following the departure of Michael Duff.

The Swans' form during Sheehan's seven-game spell at the helm was encouraging for the most part, but they were demolished 5-0 by a Southampton side who were en route to promotion to the Premier League under Russell Martin.

Sheehan regards that defeat as another useful lesson in his career.

"I think sometimes you take more from the losses than the wins," Sheehan said.

"Nobody wants to win more than me and you've got to be able to win in different ways.

"But with the losses you need to learn why and, when they're convincing losses, there are obviously reasons behind it."

Swansea were also well beaten on their most recent trip to Southampton, as Luke Williams' team went down 3-0 against their then Premier League hosts in the FA Cup third round last January.

Having been relegated last season, Southampton have made a slow start to this campaign.

Boss Will Still has seen his new side win two and draw five of their nine league games so far in 2025-26.

"I think it's another team with a new manager transitioning into a way they want to play," Sheehan said.

"We've had Leicester [before the international break] and we have Southampton, Ipswich and Manchester City in this block coming up, so four teams that were in the Premier League last year.

"It's definitely not a game to underestimate. Southampton are a difficult team with individuals that are highly capable for the level."