Swansea City will be hoping to return to winning ways and go level at the top of the EFL Championship as they prepare for the visit of Rotherham United.

The Swans lost their last game 1-0 to Norwich City and dropped to sixth place, however, there is only a three-point deficit between themselves and Reading at the summit, meaning a win could see them in the automatic spots come the end of Saturday.

The international break came at the wrong time for the Millers after winning 2-1 at home against Preston North End, meaning that they were unable to carry any momentum straight into another fixture. A win on the road could see them move as high as 12th in the Championship.

Team news

Andre Ayew and Marc Guehi are doubts for Swansea, but Ben Cabango and Kyle Naughton are in contention to feature.

Kieran Sadlier is out after an ankle problem forced him off against Preston. Jamal Blackman missed the previous game with an ankle knock, though, he could be back available for the trip to South Wales. Joe Mattock is also back in contention following a hamstring issue, however, Paul Warne may not risk the left-back.

Predicted Line-ups

Swansea City (3-5-2): Woodman; Naughton, Bennett, Cabango; Roberts, Fulton, Grimes, Smith, Bidwell; Lowe, Gyokeres

Rotherham United (4-3-3): Johansson; Olosunde, Ihiekwe, Wood, Harding; Wiles, Lindsay, Barlaser; Jozefzoon, Ladapo, Crooks

Form Guide

Before Swansea’s defeat to Norwich, the Swans were unbeaten in five games, with wins over Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers, and three 1-1 draws with Coventry City, Bristol City and Brentford.

City have only lost two league games this season, which is the joint second-best in the Championship. They also have the second-best defensive record in the league, conceding just seven goals from 11 games.

The Millers have started life back in the Championship by picking up 12 points from 11 games and placing 19th in the Championship, as Warne’s side look to avoid an immediate return to League One.

Rotherham have lost three of their last five games, recording impressive wins over Preston and Sheffield Wednesday from their other two fixtures.

They have only won once on their travels all season, coming on the opening day against Wycombe Wanderers.

Ones to watch

Swansea City – Jamal Lowe

In the absence of Ayew, who is the Swans' top scorer with five goals, Jamal Lowe will need to take the goalscoring mantle if Swansea are to get a result against Rotherham.

The forward only has two goals from 11 games this season, taking an average 2.2 shots at goal per game.

Lowe scored six goals and registered five assists last season for a relegated Wigan Athletic side.

Rotherham United – Michael Ihiekwe

Michael Ihiekwe has captained the team for much of the season and has been known to be a formidable presence at set-pieces in either box.

The centre-half makes an average of 1.6 interceptions per game, and also makes 4.9 clearances.

The 28-year-old scored the opener when these two sides last met in April 2019.

Previous meetings

It was an entertaining affair when these two sides last met at the Liberty Stadium, with Swansea coming away with a 4-3 victory.

The aforementioned Ihiekwe glanced home a 10th-minute opener for the visitors from Will Vaulks’ cross from the left.

Oli McBurnie equalised after the half-hour mark before Matt Crooks put Rotherham ahead once again.

Swansea levelled through Barrie McKay before getting a questionable third goal, as Rotherham felt Naughton handled George Byers' shot to make it 3-2.

McBurnie scored again, only for Vaulks' strike to make it 4-3 to make it a nervy remaining seven minutes.

Where to watch

The only way to view this clash live on Saturday 21 November is by purchasing an 'iFollow' match pass on either of the club’s website.

Kick-off is scheduled for 15:00 BST.

What the managers have said

Steve Cooper has stated that his side have put their previous defeat to Norwich behind them.

“As soon as that day has come and gone, it’s all about looking forward,” he said, speaking to the club’s website.

“Over the course of a season, you will win, lose and draw games. That is inevitable.

“The biggest challenge is to try and be as consistent as you can, and to do that you have got to be looking forward and being positive.

“You’ve got to look forward, otherwise you just get caught up in stuff that doesn’t affect the next game.

“We’re continuing to do that, and we’ll see where it takes us.”

Warne praised the Swans’ attacking outlet, stating that they are “dangerous”. 

“The front three are really dangerous and the wing-backs put a lot of work in; they are a possession-based team as they always have been, which is fundamentally how they’ve been playing for many years,” he said, speaking to Rotherham’s website.

“They have threats all over the pitch, but that is no different to any other Championship team.

“These are the games that the lads should go out and enjoy, so we’ll go there trying to play on the front foot and try to cause them problems.

“They have got quality, but so have we, hopefully, we can go down there and put in a good performance on the day.”