Following Russell Martin’s departure over the summer, Swansea City have experienced a difficult start to the 2023-24 season under the new management of Michael Duff, currently finding themselves as one of the three remaining sides in England’s second tier with a winless record.
The Swans’ campaign began with draws against Birmingham City and Coventry City, either side of a defeat to West Bromwich Albion and an EFL Cup first-round triumph over Northampton Town, leaving them on two points from three outings before failing to add another point to their tally in the next three attempts.
Duff’s men would surrender a 1-0 lead away at Preston North End and leave empty-handed following a 2-1 defeat, before the Welsh outfit fell to Bournemouth in the EFL Cup and Bristol City in the league and saw their South Wales Derby winning run come to an abrupt end, succumbing to a 2-0 defeat away at rivals Cardiff City as Ollie Tanner opened the scoring 19 minutes from time and Aaron Ramsey doubled the hosts’ lead late on from the penalty spot.
Aiming to bounce back from that disappointing run, Swansea most recently travelled to take on Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday and looked set to have scored a first Championship triumph at the seventh time of asking, having led throughout the contest thanks to Josh Ginnelly’s early opener, only to be pegged back in agonising fashion as Lyndon Dykes forced a share of the spoils with a 92nd-minute equaliser at Loftus Road.
With pressure bound to be growing on Duff, with the Swans having collected just three points from seven outings and sitting 22nd as a result, they will be desperate to put an end to their winless start at the weekend on home turf.
They meet one of the two sides with a worse record in the Championship so far this term, with Sheffield Wednesday a point behind Saturday’s opponents after winning promotion in the League One playoffs last time around.
That promotion was under Darren Moore, but like their hosts, the Owls are also under new management this term, with Xisco Munoz having taken over at Hillsborough and overseen a difficult start, as they lost their first four matches at the hands of Southampton, Hull City, Preston North End and Cardiff City, before securing a first point at the fifth time of asking prior to the recent international break in a creditable goalless stalemate away at Yorkshire rivals Leeds United.
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their return to action last weekend, Munoz’s men hosted fellow promoted side Ipswich Town but again came away empty-handed, suffering a 1-0 defeat as Conor. netted the only goal on the stroke of half time, leaving the Owls on just a single point from six matches ahead of a crucial meeting with fellow struggles Middlesbrough at Hillsborough on Tuesday.
They took the lead in that game through Anthony Musaba and went into the interval ahead, only to have to settle for a point as Darragh Lenihan drew the visitors level early in the second period with neither side going on to find the decisive goal.
That left the South Yorkshire outfit and Boro stuck at the bottom of the division with two points on the board, and with pressure also continuing to grow around the club and Munoz, they will look to end their wait for a first win since their return to the Championship, which would see them leapfrog the Swans at the weekend.
