Swansea City host Huddersfield Town at 3:00BST on Saturday afternoon looking to extend their unbeaten run to five matches, having taken 10 points from a possible 12. 

Huddersfield, on the other hand, have made an indifferent start to their campaign under new boss Carlos Corberan but recent results suggest that the tide could be turning for the Spaniard. 

Beginning the campaign with back-to-back losses without scoring against Norwich City and Bournemouth would have had fans fearing the worst for the season ahead, but a 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest and a point away at Rotherham United have gone a long way to settling any early season nerves. 

  • Team news

One reason for Swansea's success has been their continuity in their starting XI. Steve Cooper is yet to make any outfield changes, but that will change in this fixture after Joe Rodon completed his move to Tottenham Hotspur for an undisclosed fee. 
 

Swansea completed their business on a busy deadline day with three new additions; centre back Ryan Bennett joined from Wolverhampton Wanderers and Joel Latibeudiere joined from Manchester City  subject to international clearance - and provided it is received in time - could make their debuts on Saturday. Swansea also bolstered their attack with the signing of Kasey Palmer on loan from Bristol City. 

Freddie Woodman is expected to make a return in-between the sticks resulting in Steven Benda dropping to the substitutes’ bench. 

For Huddersfield, there are no fresh injury concerns or deadline day signings so it’s more of the same for Corberan as he welcomes back key figures to his squad. 

Karlan Grant did, however, complete his long awaited move to Premier League side West Bromwich Albion on Thursday evening, so the Terriers are somewhat depleted in the attacking department. 

Christopher Schindler, Lewis O’Brien and Alex Pritchard will all be fit enough to face Swansea City on Saturday afternoon

Following a disastrous loan spell at Forest last season, Adama Diakhaby could return to the flank, with Isaac Mbenza the most at risk to losing his place. 

  • Predicted line-ups

Swansea City predicted starting XI: Woodman; Cabango, Rodon, Guehi; Roberts, Smith, Grimes, Bidwell; Gibbs-White; Ayew, Lowe

Huddersfield Town predicted starting XI: Hamer; Pipa, Stearman, Sarr, Toffolo; Eiting, Hogg; Mbenza, Bacuna, Koroma; Campbell

  • Ones to watch

Swansea City - Morgan Gibbs-White

England under-21 international Morgan Gibbs-White joined on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers this summer, reuniting with Steve Cooper – who he played under when England Under-17s won the 2017 World Cup. 
 

The 20-year-old attacking midfielder is up there with the some of the most talented youngsters to play in the Championship. Gibbs-White is both an intelligent and hardworking footballer; covering large proportions of the pitch, while having a desirable impact in the final third.
 

He possesses attributes in his armoury that make him a stand-out attacking midfielder in not just this division, but in any across Europe. He find pockets of space in-between the lines, moves into the half spaces and produces quality through balls.
 

Swansea like to dominate possession and Gibbs-White is at the forefront of that, but he has the physical attributes to be the linking player for the Swans, should they choose the option to counter-attack with his pace. 
 

Swansea City - Jake Bidwell

Swansea City made a number of signings in the attacking department this summer, but it’s surprisingly Jake Bidwell who has the highest goal involvement - one goal and two assists. 
 

The 27-year-old attacking left back is given the license to get forward and deliver menacing crosses into the box while also being a threat from set-pieces and corners. For some, his attacking involvement won’t be a surprise given the quality he possesses and Huddersfield will surely have to be on their guard in wide areas. 
 

Huddersfield Town - Harry Toffolo

Similarly to Bidwell, Harry Toffolo is an equally exciting attacking full back. The 25-year-old joined from Lincoln City for an undisclosed fee in January and was a mainstay under former boss Danny Cowley, continuing that form under Corberan. 
 

Huddersfield play a possession style of football which encourages the full backs to join the attack, with Toffolo getting himself into more advanced positions than he would have under Cowley. The left back, in a similar vein to Bidwell, possesses a superb delivery into the opposition box and this has been shown on multiple occasions. He provided the assist for what remains the Terrier’s only goal scored in the league this season. 

  • Previous meetings

The last time these two sides met was in February at the Liberty Stadium. The contest was dominated by Swansea and they ran out as 3-1 winners with goals from Andre Ayew, Jay Fulton and Jordan Garrick. 
 

https://youtu.be/ddEhhmcow5E

  • How to watch 

The match is available on iFollow via either Swansea or Huddersfield’s  respective websites, with match passes at £10 for those inside of the United Kingdom and comparatively cheaper for international viewers.

  • What the managers have said 

Steve Cooper has reiterated that his side are ready for their congested fixture schedule, following their triple deadline day signings: 

“We know it is going to be demanding,” said head coach Cooper.

“We talk a lot about the Christmas period being busy, but this is like having that sort of schedule – where you play every three or four days – for a few months.

“It could potentially be defining times in a season, and these periods are going to be very important over the course of the campaign as there are a lot of points at stake in quite a short period of time.”

Speaking during his virtual press conference on Thursday afternoon, Carlos detailed what he expects from Steve Cooper’s side.

“Swansea is a strong team; they have a strong squad.

“They are working with this coach [Steve Cooper] for the second season. They didn’t make a lot of signings because they are creating some stability which I think is positive.

Corberan also spoke briefly about the clash of identities heading into this contest, with Huddersfield garnering a reputation to play a possession based style of football like their opposition, while also acknowledging the challenge ahead: 

“It is a team that played in the play-offs, a team that has performed really strongly in the last year and one that started strongly this year too.

“I think it is going to be a challenge because both teams will look to play with similar identities and similar football behaviours. I think it will be a nice challenge for us and for them too.”