Swansea City will welcome back a key man defender for tonight’s welcoming of Sheffield Wednesday – but a maligned ex-Owl will not feature.
The Swans have a near full selection of players to choose from with Harry Darling back from suspension having been sent off in their defeat to Sheffield United last month. The former MK Dons man has been a standout figure for the Welsh side in recent times but faces a toss-up over his return to the side given the performance of a Blades academy man in their win at Bristol City over the weekend.
Wednesday will face a side that has shifted to a new system with five at the back, a decision made by Swansea boss Luke Williams due to the big-money loss of creative hub Matt Grimes to Coventry City during the January transfer window.
“He’s back in the mix,” said Williams on Darling. “He’s a really good player for us and the more players we have available the better. He’s fit and he’s ready to play, but I thought Kyle Naughton was exceptional to be honest so we’ll see.”
Kristian Pedersen spent the second half of last season on loan at Hillsborough after sealing a deadline day switch from South Wales last January. The Dane made only four appearances for the Owls before suffering an injury that took him out of action for nine matches and nearly two months.
His luck with injury has not improved since his return to Swansea, it seems, as he continues his recovery from a hamstring issue that required surgery. His contribution to their campaign so far has been limited to two Carabao Cup outings. Former Liverpool midfielder Joe Allen will also miss the clash through injury.
The Owls will be looking to kickstart their away record and punish a Swansea side who have lost their last two at home. As has been the case at S6 and at several grounds across the Championship, the pitch at the Swansea.com Stadium has not been especially conducive to the sort of passing style of play Williams’ side have been famed for – not that it’s a factor the Swans boss is spending any time focusing on.
He said: “What’s been disappointing is that we’ve had many games at home that have been well within our grasp and we’ve allowed them to slip away from us, that’s something we’ve been frustrated at as a group. There’s enough football left to still make the home record impressive if we perform in the right way.”
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