Owain Tudur Jones
Former Swansea and Wales midfielder on BBC Radio Wales

I tend to dislike the early kick-offs because it takes the sting out of the game, but not today.

I think with Luke Williams' style and with the Swans having been Cardiff's kryptonite, 2-1 home win.

Dafydd Pritchard
BBC Sport Wales at the Swansea.com Stadium

Don't think I've ever heard a corner greeted with such noise before. It is loud in here.

Another early sight of goal for Swansea arrives from the corner which follows, as Jamie Paterson picks out Harry Darling at the far post and his header is saved.

That is already one more effort on target than Swansea managed against Bristol City last week.

A rousing start for Swansea, who already have the home crowd on their feet as Matt Grimes' sweet strike is deflected wide.

We are under way at a throbbing Swansea.com Stadium.

Owain Tudur Jones
Former Swansea and Wales midfielder on BBC Radio Wales

There's less pressure on Cardiff, they've got that win under their belts.

The pressure is on Swansea, if Cardiff win today, they'll finish above Swansea in the league as well.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Jason Bowen, a former player for both these clubs, has just been introduced to the crowd - and received a warm ovation from both sets of fans.

Bowen was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in 2021.

Both teams are wearing T-shirts paying tribute to Bowen during the warm-up.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Captain Joe Ralls says Erol Bulut's players are "fully motivated" as they look to become the first Cardiff side to complete a league double over Swansea.

Cardiff have made the short trip down the M4 in fine fettle, having won their last four league games, and have the chance to redress the balance somewhat after Swansea's back-to-back league doubles in this fixture.

"It’s a big incentive," said Ralls.

"This game can be a springboard for the rest of the season. We are fully motivated."

Erol Bulut's long-term future at Cardiff City remains uncertain with his contract set to expire this summer.

The Bluebirds boss has indicated he would be happy to sign a new deal - but as yet there has been no offer from the club.

A win today would do Bulut's chances of securing a new deal no harm.

He says he is desperate for his side to make history by claiming Cardiff's first league derby double.

Dafydd Pritchard
BBC Sport Wales at the Swansea.com Stadium

Pubs packed at 10am, police on every M4 bridge from Port Talbot to Swansea... It's the magic of the south Wales derby.

There's a huge police presence around the Swansea.com Stadium for Cardiff's visit. Tension hangs in the air on days like this.

You can also sense that mutual dread among both sets of supporters. It's a great game to win, a horrible one to lose.

Joe Allen has been frustrated by injuries all too often since returning to Swansea City in 2022, but he is fit and firing this afternoon and hoping to make another mark in the south Wales derby.

Fifteen years ago, a teenage Allen came off the bench to score his first Swansea goal in a Championship encounter between Roberto Martinez's Swans and Dave Jones' Cardiff at Ninian Park.

It might have been the winner, but for a dubious late penalty which saw the Bluebirds salvage a point.

As well as that draw, Allen has won three south Wales derbies and lost one - while he had been due to start at Cardiff last September only to suffer an injury in the warm-up which led to surgery.

That meant he watched from the stands as Swansea were beaten in miserable circumstances - and says the whole club have been waiting for a chance to respond to that defeat.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

This is Luke Williams' first south Wales derby as Swansea head coach, but he does have experience of the fixture.

Williams was an assistant to Russell Martin when a Jamie Paterson-inspired Swansea beat Cardiff 3-0 in October 2021.

He says that victory was as joyous as last season's National League play-off final success with Notts County, which says much about the significance of this fixture in this part of the world.

Read more: Derby success like winning at Wembley, says Luke Williams

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Cardiff’s run of four successive victories has revived some hope of a late-season push for the play-offs.

In the early stages of this campaign, Cardiff looked like genuine top-six contenders having made a dramatic improvement under Erol Bulut, the former Fenerbahce boss who arrived in Wales last summer.

However, a long run of inconsistency over the winter months appeared to have ended any prospect of a play-off place.

Victories over Stoke, Bristol City, Huddersfield and Ipswich have shifted the mood again, although plenty more wins will be required if Cardiff – who narrowly escaped relegation last season – are to do something remarkable this season.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

It has been a traumatic season at Swansea, who replaced Russell Martin with Michael Duff last summer only to sack the former Barnsley boss a little over five months later.

Alan Sheehan had a lengthy spell in caretaker charge before Swansea appointed Luke Williams – Martin’s former assistant – in early January.

Since then, there have been some promising signs, with Swansea returning to a style where possession is king, but it has not been an easy start for Williams.

The Swans have won three of their 11 league games under Williams, with defeat at Bristol City last weekend – when they failed to have a shot on target – leaving them only five points clear of the relegation zone with nine matches remaining this season.

Williams is convinced his team will improve in the final stages of a painful campaign – and knows victory over the neighbours this afternoon would be the ideal way to lift spirits before the final international break of 2023-24.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Swansea City have had the upper hand in Welsh club football’s biggest fixture in recent years, with the men in white winning seven of the last nine south Wales derbies.

But it was Cardiff City who emerged triumphant in the most recent meeting of the clubs, at the Cardiff City Stadium last September.

Swansea were limping along at the time under Michael Duff and, after an uninspiring first half for both sides, were beaten 2-0 courtesy of second-half goals from Ollie Tanner and Aaron Ramsey.

It was a miserable day for Swansea, but a joyous one for Cardiff given their recent derby struggles.

Now comes the chance for the Bluebirds to secure a league double against Swansea for the first time in their history.

It was a feat neither club had achieved until 2021-22, when Russell Martin’s Swans won 3-0 at home and 4-0 away.

Remarkably, Martin’s team repeated the feat last season.

That sequence of results made Cardiff’s win earlier this season all the more welcome for those on the blue side of the south Wales divide – and would make another success today that much sweeter.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Cardiff are unchanged from last Saturday's 2-1 win over high-flying Ipswich.

The most notable bit of team news is on the bench, where Wales captain Aaron Ramsey returns having been out with a calf strain.

Cardiff: Horvath; Ng, Goutas, Phillips, Wilson-Esbrand; Siopis, Wintle; Bowler, Turnbull, Grant; Meite.

Subs: Turner, Romeo, Ralls, Ramsey, O'Dowda, Collins, Diedhiou, Colwill, Tanner.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Swansea boss Luke Williams makes only one enforced change to the side which started at Bristol City last weekend, with Harry Darling recalled in central defence.

He replaces Ben Cabango, scorer of a late winner at Cardiff last season, who Swansea say is injured.

January signings Ronald and Przemyslaw Placheta make south Wales derby debuts, while young defender Filip Lissah comes on to the bench.

Swansea City: Rushworth; Naughton, Darling, Wood, Tymon; Allen, Grimes; Ronald, Paterson, Placheta; Cullen.

Subs: Fisher, Lissah, Key, Fulton, Yates, Lowe, Patino, Cooper, Abdulai.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Good afternoon and welcome to the Swansea.com Stadium, where Swansea City take on Cardiff City in the south Wales derby this lunchtime.

Swansea are in need of victory as they look to pull clear of the Championship relegation scrap.

Cardiff, meanwhile, are chasing a fifth successive league win, knowing there is little margin for error if they are to make a late-season push for the top six.

But this fixture is not really about the league table.

This fixture is about getting the better of the neighbours, about delivering in the game that matters most to both these clubs.

We’ll take you through all the action, but let’s start with a look at the teams.