Swansea City

Sunderland are now assured of a play-off spot and a win over Swansea would guarantee them at least a fourth-placed finish

Swansea go into the game on the back of a three-match unbeaten run.

• After their 3-2 win in December, Sunderland are looking to record their first league double over Swansea City since 1963-64.

• Swansea have won each of their past three away league games at Sunderland, this after only winning two of their first 14 beforehand (D5 L7).

• Sunderland have earned 43 points in 20 Championship home games this season, their most from their opening 20 home matches of a season in one of England's top two tiers since 2004-05 (46).

• Swansea have only won one of their past nine away league outings (D2 L6), a 1-0 victory at Bristol City in February.

• Sunderland have kept a clean sheet in each of their past three league games, last keeping four in a row in the Championship in February 2007.

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Alan Sheehan says Swansea City must roll their sleeves up and prepare for another scrap when they host Plymouth Argyle on Wednesday (19:45 BST).

Swansea overcame Derby County in a dire game last Saturday, with Eom Ji-Sung's late goal lighting up an otherwise forgettable contest.

After a victory which eased their own relegation worries, Swansea now turn their attention to a meeting with an Argyle side who are bottom of the table and desperate for points.

Miron Muslic's team are showing signs of life, however, having beaten Norwich City at the weekend to make it seven points from their past four games.

"At this time of the season, with single figures left in games, people are fighting for their lives," said Swansea caretaker boss Sheehan.

"Derby were, Plymouth are - we have to match that in every game.

"Yes I understand that sometimes you'd like to do it in style, but it's difficult right now against the teams we are coming up against.

"It is all about finding a way. I'd rather win ugly I suppose than lose pretty, if that makes sense. That's where we are at right now."

Sheehan says he has no fresh injury concerns going into a game Muslic has billed as must-win for his team.

The Pilgrims, who still have to face promotion-chasing Sheffield United, Middlesbrough, Coventry City and Leeds United this season, have the worst away record in the Championship, having taken only nine points on their travels in 2024-25.

But four of those points have come in their previous two away fixtures, with their solitary win on the road coming at Portsmouth last month.

"Every team raises their level by 5% at this time of year," Sheehan added.

"They are a team we have to be aware of and try to give the best version of ourselves."

Swansea City welcome the Championship's bottom side Plymouth Argyle to south Wales on Wednesday night (19:45 BST).

After their win against Derby on Saturday the Swans are now seven points clear of the drop zone, but a run of poor results could make the end to their season a little uncomfortable.

Plymouth, meanwhile, seemed down and out until they beat Norwich 2-1 over the weekend and put themselves within five points of safety; meaning victory over Swansea is vital.

• Swansea have won five of their previous seven league games against Plymouth (D1 L1), winning this season's reverse meeting 2-1 in December.

• After their 1-0 win in this exact fixture last season, Plymouth could win back-to-back away league games against Swansea for only the second time, previously doing so in 1984-85/1985-86.

• Swansea have lost four of their past five midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) league games (D1), scoring just one goal in this time, since a 3-0 victory over QPR in December.

• Plymouth have picked up four points in their previous two away league games (W1 D1), just one fewer than their first 18 outings of the season beforehand (5 – W0 D5 L13).

• Plymouth have won two of their past three league games played on a Wednesday (D1), as many as their previous 12 on this day of the week beforehand (W2 D5 L4).

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Swansea City goalkeeper Andy Fisher enjoyed his best day yet as a St Johnstone player as he helped the Scottish Premiership club to a shock victory over Celtic on Sunday.

St Johnstone were given little chance of claiming victory as they hosted Brendan Rodgers' champions-in-waiting.

But the division's bottom club stunned the leaders thanks to a goal from Daniels Balodis – and a number of fine saves from Fisher.

"There were a lot of good performances, starting from the striker all the way, of course, to our goalkeeper. You need in these matches to make saves and Andy Fisher made those saves," said St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari.

Fisher has made 12 appearances for St Johnstone – missing only one game so far, through illness – since ing on loan from Swansea in January.

The former MK Dons player has not played in a league fixture for Swansea since Russell Martin's final game in charge, which was in May 2023.

He spent the 2023-24 campaign as back-up to on-loan Brighton keeper Carl Rushworth, then picked up a significant injury in a friendly before the current campaign began.

As a result, Swansea brought in Jon McLaughlin to provide competition for new number one Lawrence Vigouroux, which meant Fisher was allowed to move to Scotland in search of some first-team football.

The 27-year-old is under contract at Swansea until the end of next season.

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John Eustace says Derby County will address Jerry Yates' future at the end of the season.

Yates has enjoyed a positive campaign having ed Derby on a year-long loan from Swansea last summer.

The striker is the Rams' leading scorer this season having netted eight times in 36 appearances.

As things stand, Yates will return to Swansea at the end of the season, as he is under contract at the Welsh club until at least 2026.

When asked whether he would like to keep Yates beyond the summer, Derby boss Eustace said: "I think Jerry has done very well - that is something we will discuss at the end of the year."

Yates is thought to be one of the higher earners at Swansea having ed from Blackpool in a deal worth about £3m in 2023.

What comes next for the former Rotherham United player is likely to depend to some extent on who is in charge at Swansea, with caretaker boss Alan Sheehan only in place - for the moment at least - for the remainder of this campaign.

Yates was ineligible to feature as Sheehan's Swansea beat Derby 1-0 on Saturday.

When asked whether Yates' absence had been a factor in Derby's first defeat in five games, Eustace added: "Jerry's been great.

"He scored on Wednesday [against Preston] but [Kayden] Jackson came in and did well, he worked his socks off as the rest of the group did."

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Alan Sheehan savoured "the love" from Swansea City's fans after victory over Derby County put his side seven points clear of the Championship relegation zone.

Eom Ji-Sung's goal settled a low-quality match, the South Korean steering home at the far post to give Swansea a first win in four games.

Swansea are up to15th in the table and host bottom club Plymouth Argyle on Wednesday. They know victory would take them beyond the Championship's traditional 50-point survival mark with five fixtures still to come in 2024-25.

Sheehan, Swansea's caretaker head coach for the remainder of the season, acknowledged that parts of his team's performance against Derby were not pretty.

But he saluted the ers who gave him a rousing reception at full time.

"I thought the fans were really good," Sheehan said.

"I would have loved to score earlier, create more, but it's the way it is. At the end of the day, we sent them home happy.

"Would they be happy with some aspects of the play? Definitely not. But they saw a team fighting for each other and finding a way to win.

"The atmosphere at the end was great and I really appreciate the love they show me."

The Derby victory was a third in four home games since Sheehan took charge following the departure of Luke Williams in February.

Sheehan now has 11 points from seven fixtures at the helm – exactly the same record as the Irishman achieved during his spell as caretaker boss last season.

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Alan Sheehan toasted a fine result – and a gritty performance – after Swansea City eased their relegation concerns with victory over Derby County.

Substitute Eom Ji-Sung's 79th-minute goal – which was Swansea's only shot on target – settled what was a dire contest.

Derby, who arrived on the back of four straight victories, had looked the side most likely to find a breakthrough thanks chiefly to their long-throw threat.

But Eom's close-range finish saw Swansea claim a third triumph in four home games since Sheehan took charge following Luke Williams' departure in February.

"It wasn't a wonderful game, but it was a wonderful win," said caretaker head coach Sheehan.

"I tried to explain the magnitude of this game in the media and I didn't want to downplay it - I said it would be a dogfight. The ball goes out, long throws, set-plays, against a big physical team – we had to be more physical.

"At times that killed our fluidity but it's a fine balance to go and win a game against a team who are down there fighting and have a formula to win games at the moment.

"It was a wonderful defensive display, a win in the Championship and the one bit of quality in the whole game brought the goal. At this stage of the season, that's how it's going to be."

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Swansea's first win in four games means they are seven points clear of the relegation zone with six matches remaining this season, with bottom of the table Plymouth Argyle to come at home on Wednesday.

Sheehan said he could "not speculate" on how many more points Swansea need to guarantee survival.

"We will go into every game and try to pick up as many points as we can," he said.

"I think we are showing at the moment that we are very adaptable and are capable of picking up different points. Leeds last week, today is totally different, Blackburn and Middlesbrough are different.

"The players are in a good place."

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Alan Sheehan says Jerry Yates' long-term future will be discussed at the end of the season as Swansea City prepare to face the striker's loan club this Saturday (15:00 BST).

Yates has enjoyed a positive spell at Derby County this season, and scored his eighth goal of the campaign – in his 36th appearance – as the Rams beat Preston North End on Wednesday.

But the 28-year-old will be ineligible to feature when Derby take on his parent club at the Swansea.com Stadium.

Yates, who ed Swansea from Blackpool in a deal worth about £3m in 2023, is under contract at the Welsh club until at least 2026.

"Jerry came in last year and it was an up and down year for him, but he's gone to Derby and played regular games which was the plan," said Swansea caretaker boss Sheehan.

"He's doing really well there and [his future] will be a conversation in the summer I'm sure."

As for this weekend, Sheehan says Derby "have replacements who can come in and do a similar job" to Yates as they target a fifth straight league victory.

John Eustace's rejuvenated team climbed out of the relegation places thanks to the Preston win and would close to within a point of Swansea with an away triumph.

"It's going to be a dogfight because of how they play," Sheehan said.

"They are winning games, they have found a formula to do so. They've got momentum and momentum is powerful.

"But that's them, we have to focus on ourselves. We believe that if we give the best version of ourselves, we are a test for even the top teams now."

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Director of football Richard Montague says Swansea City remain in discussions with Harry Darling as they attempt to convince the centre-back to sign a new deal.

Darling, 25, has made 107 appearances since ing Swansea in 2021 and has established himself as a key figure this season.

But as things stand, he will be free to another club for nothing when his contract expires this summer.

Montague says Swansea have made Darling what they consider to be a "fair offer".

"We will do our best to get him to sign as he's a really important player, but our job is figuring what's the amount we want to pay Harry," Montague told a fans' forum held at the Swansea.com Stadium on Thursday.

"There is an amount he would accept today, but our job is to work out what allows us to spend money we need to spend on the rest of the squad.

"We can't spend the entire budget on Harry, but there is an amount that makes sense for us and for him, so we'll work to find that."

Montague says Swansea must accept that they will miss out on potential gs – and fail to convince current players to extend their deals – because of the club's financial constraints.

And he stressed that in future, Swansea would "be working incredibly hard" to tie down players before the prospect of leaving on a free comes into view.

Caretaker head coach Alan Sheehan believes Darling may yet follow fellow defender Ben Cabango's lead by g a new contract.

"I am hoping, we all hope, that there will be positive movement on that," Sheehan said.

"I love Harry Darling, I don't make any secret of that.

"I am quite hard on him at times but we have a wonderful relationship and he has been exceptional in this block of games and we miss him when he's not playing."

Swansea City host the most in form team in the Championship on Saturday (15:00 BST) but visitors Derby County still may seem themselves in League One next season.

Over the past four league games, no team has performed as well as the Rams, winning all four to drag themselves out of the relegation zone but only by a single point.

A loss for Derby could see them re-enter the bottom three and burst the buoyant bubble they have enjoyed under new boss John Eustace.

Though the Swans' form has not been so bright, winless over their past three games (L2 D1) and just five points into safety themselves - could Derby extend their winning run to a fifth game?

• Swansea City are looking to complete a league double over Derby County for the first time since the 09-10 campaign.

• Derby have lost each of their last two away league visits to Swansea, losing both games 2-1 in 2020-21 and 2021-22 under Wayne Rooney.

• Swansea have lost four of their last six home league matches (W2), as many as they'd lost in their previous 16 home games combined (W7 D5 L4).

• Although they had the fewest shots of any side in March in the Championship (29), Derby scored seven times, converting 24.1% of their shots last month.

• Swansea's Zan Vipotnik has scored six Championship goals this season; the only Slovenians with more in a season in the competition are Robert Koren (9 in 2007-08, 7 in 2010-11, 10 in 2011-12 and 9 in 2012-13) and Andraz Sporar (8 in 2021-22).

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Lawrence Vigouroux was sad to see Luke Williams leave Swansea City – but says the players he left behind have not had time to dwell on the departure of their former head coach.

Williams, the man who signed Vigouroux last summer, said farewell to Swansea in February after a run of seven defeats in nine league games.

Since then, Swansea have taken eight points from six games under caretaker boss Alan Sheehan to edge towards securing their Championship status for next season.

"It was disappointing [to see Williams go]," goalkeeper Viogouroux said.

"A lot of things happened in that time. We lost Matt Grimes who was such an important player for us and then we lose the manager.

"I think it's football in of nothing is ever guaranteed for a long period of time. It was sad but football keeps going. If you feel sorry for yourself then you can end up losing way more games."

Derby County's victory over Preston North End on Wednesday means 16th-placed Swansea are five points clear of the relegation places with seven games remaining this season, the first of which is at home against the Rams this Saturday (5:00 BST).

Derby are up to 20th in the table, four points behind their weekend opponents, having won four successive games.

After tackling John Eustace's rejuvenated team, Swansea host bottom-of-the-table Plymouth Argyle next Wednesday.

Swansea head into what could be a key week knowing two home wins would make them all but safe on 51 points, and with spirits lifted by last weekend's rousing draw with promotion-chasing Leeds United.

"We have shown we can get results against some of the teams at the top end of the division and hopefully that continues," Vigouroux added.

"Leeds was a really tough game and it was a great result for us.

"But it's only a good point if we can get some result in the next two games."

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Jay Fulton is battling to overcome a knee injury in time to feature when Swansea City host Derby County on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Fulton, 30, produced one of his best displays of the season as Swansea claimed an impressive draw at Leeds United last weekend.

That was despite the fact that the long-serving midfielder picked up a knee problem which eventually forced him off after 82 minutes at Elland Road.

"Jay Fulton took a big knock to the side of his knee early in the game but strapped it up and showed a wonderful mentality to stay on as long as he did," said Swansea caretaker boss Alan Sheehan.

"He is back on the grass but we'll have a look at him.

"He was playing through the pain barrier, though the level of performance wouldn't have indicated that."

Aside from Fulton, Sheehan says Swansea are in good shape going into the game against Derby, with long-term absentees Myles Peart-Harris and Kristian Pedersen the only players who will definitely miss out.

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Captain Ben Cabango reckons Swansea City are making strides under Alan Sheehan as they look to pull clear of the Championship relegation scrap.

Swansea responded to successive defeats prior to the international break with a morale-boosting draw at Leeds United on Saturday.

Zan Viptonik's 96th-minute equaliser ensured Swansea came away from Elland Road with something after a courageous display against the promotion-chasing Whites.

The Leeds draw means Swansea are seven points clear of the bottom three with seven games to play this season, though the gap will be down to five should Derby County win their game in hand against Preston North End on Wednesday.

Swansea host 22nd-place Derby on Saturday, before bottom-of-the-table Plymouth Argyle visit four days later.

The Swans head into two potentially pivotal fixtures in good spirits after another positive display under caretaker head coach Sheehan.

"There's still work to do," said centre-back Cabango.

"We are trying to get better each game - Shees (Sheehan) has only just come in. We have a big game next week and we need to take the positives from Leeds into that one."

Swansea have taken eight points from six games since Sheehan took the reins following Luke Williams departed in February on the back of a run of seven defeats in nine league games.

Williams' side were four points off the play-offs after 24 league matches this season, only for a collapse in form to raise concerns about dropping to League One.

"It's been a wild season to be honest, with Luke Williams starting and then Shees coming in - it's been a lot of change," Cabango added.

"But I feel like Shees has brought some good things in for us. We have all taken it on board and it shows when we go and perform like we did at Leeds that the boys are giving everything for him."

Gareth Vincent
BBC Sport Wales

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Played 19 games, won 15 and lost only one, having scored a whopping 47 goals and conceded just nine along the way.

Leeds United's home record in this Championship campaign before the weekend meant Swansea City travelled to Elland Road with hope rather than any great expectation.

Yet Alan Sheehan's squad made the long trip home from Yorkshire with a point in their pocket and wind in their sails.

A 96th-minute equaliser guarantees a psychological boost, as does avoiding defeat when facing one of the best sides in the division on their ground.

So Saturday's 2-2 draw at Leeds – and the manner in which it was achieved – should be a fillip for Swansea as they attempt to finish another turbulent season in positive fashion.

The gap to the bottom three now stands at seven points, though that could be cut to five should Derby County beat Preston North End on Wednesday.

Even if the Rams lose, there is work to do before Swansea can begin planning with certainty for another season in the second tier.

Derby, who are 22nd, come to the Swansea.com Stadium this Saturday, before bottom-club Plymouth Argyle follow four days later.

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If the Swans could dig out successive home victories, all relegation concerns would surely be eliminated.

Sheehan, meanwhile, would have an impressive points-per-game ratio as Swansea's caretaker boss.

During seven games in charge last season, the Irishman helped Swansea claim 11 points.

This time around, his team claimed seven points in the initial block of five matches after Luke Williams departed in February.

That was enough to convince Swansea to ask Sheehan to remain in charge for the remainder of the season, with the Leeds draw representing a rousing start to the final push in 2024-25.

The fact that Sheehan has been given only a short-term deal indicates that Swansea's new-look hierarchy – led by American owners Brett Cravatt and Jason Cohen, plus director of football Richard Montague – are still weighing up their options when it comes to selecting the club's next permanent head coach.

For Sheehan, who it seems is in the midst of a lengthy audition, more displays like Swansea's courageous effort at Leeds will do the cause no harm.