Swansea vs Cardiff: Championship Preview, Gameweek 16, 2022

Having captained Cardiff City in valiant victories during his playing days, interim manager Mark Hudson will now be striving to marshal his troops to their call of duty in the South Wales Derby tomorrow.

Though while many will understandably echo the sentiment that the former defender understands the meaning and tradition of such a truly unique rivalry, his managerial adversary, Russell Martin, has already masterminded the Swans to consecutive wins over Cardiff.

Martin's men head into the showdown with a spring in their step, having won five of their last six matches, defeating outfits such as Sunderland, Watford and Reading in the process.

Meanwhile, Cardiff have been subdued to a slump of sorts; after acquiring four points from affairs with high flyers Burnley and Blackburn Rovers- coupled with a 3-1 victory away to Wigan Athletic- recent defeats to Coventry City and QPR have sounded alarm bells within the Welsh Capital.

But ultimately, the outcome of the clash will be dictated by which team is more up for it on the day.

Team news

Swansea

Welsh International Joe Allen has been ruled out of contention with a leg injury, while it is believed that the match will come too soon for Jamie Paterson, who has had to bide his time his time with various setbacks thus far.

Liam Walsh is also sidelined with a long-term achilles tendon injury.

Versatile defender Ryan Manning is being assessed as preparations head to their finale and Swansea have faced a further blow with the unavailability of Joel Piroe, with the attacker currently serving a three-match suspension for his dismissal against Burnley.

Cardiff

Similarly, the Bluebirds also have a wealth of personnel who will be sitting out of the encounter in anger this weekend.

Jamilu Collins is ruled out for the remainder of the campaign with an ACL injury, whereas Isaak Davies and Ebou Adams are both still recovering following pre-season setbacks.

Mahlon Romeo is also striving to return from his own ankle injury, although it seems he will be missing out on contention.

Perry Ng is continuing to be monitored, but a verdict has been decided towards playmaking prospect Rubin Colwill, who will be out of the squad yet again with a knock.

In spite of all the negative news regarding selection, supporters will be pleased with the ultimatum on Jack Simpson, with the club winning an appeal for his red card in the defeat at QPR to be overturned.

Likely lineups

Swansea (3-4-2-1):

Benda; Cabango, Darling, Naughton; Latibeaudiere, Fulton, Grimes (C), Sorinola; Cooper, Ntcham; Obafemi

Cardiff (4-3-3):

Allsopp; Sang, Kipre, Simpson, Nkounkou; Ralls (C), Rinomhota, Wintle; Ojo, Robinson, O'Dowda

Key players

Swansea - Oliver Cooper

The young midfielder has turned heads at the Liberty Stadium this term and has the perfect opportunity to illuminate his talents against Cardiff, as he looks to push for a late place in Wales' World Cup squad.

After impressing on loan at Newport County in the 2021/22 season with nine assists, he has been entrusted with the chance to prove his worth in the Championship- which has been seized with both hands, scoring twice and laying on another in only seven starts.

Indeed, both strikes have occurred in his last three outings for the Jack Army, meaning he will be heading into the derby with a great deal of confidence and momentum.

Capable of playing in central midfield, further forward as a number 10 or even out wide, Cardiff simply cannot afford to fixate their eyes away from the 22-year-old.

Cardiff - Callum Robinson

Although the past two matches have not been fruitful for summer signing Robinson, his return since making the move to City suggests that there is every chance he could emerge as a real handful for the hosts.

Scavenging from limited service at times, he has notched five goal involvements in eight matches, a healthy outlay for a forward leading the line for a side who find themselves in the lower echelons of the league table.

From his creativity to his movement and finishing ability, Robinson is a multifunctional attacker that possesses that knack of almost always managing to put his opponents under the cosh- and the Cardiff faithful will be praying he does just that in their biggest match of the season.