Both aiming for a swift return to winning ways in the Championship, Swansea City and Burnley collide at the Swansea.com Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts' three-game unbeaten run came to an end at the hands of Watford last time out, while Scott Parker's men could only draw 1-1 at home to West Bromwich Albion.
Match preview
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Three games without defeat, seven points accrued and a total of zero goals conceded was seemingly the perfect preparation for Swansea before their sojourn to Vicarage Road, but after Moussa Sissoko broke the deadlock just shy of the half-hour mark thanks to a defensive blunder, they never recovered.
That 1-0 defeat on Wednesday evening marked the Swans' first Championship loss in almost a month, while also marking caretaker manager Alan Sheehan's first reverse in the hotseat, although he justifiably labelled his side unfortunate after Goncalo Franco inexplicably laid the ball on a plate for Tom Ince to tee up Sissoko.
However, Swansea's midweek disappointment is unlikely to have any significant impact on their final-season standing, as the 16th-placed hosts sit 11 points clear of the relegation zone and 12 adrift of the playoff spots, so pushing for a top-half place is surely the best they can wish for.
Whether Sheehan will still be at the helm come May remains unclear, as the club are still searching for a permanent successor to the recently-sacked Luke Williams and could ramp up their pursuit of a new head coach during the imminent international break.
If Sheehan is to take charge of the hosts for the final time on Saturday, he can sign off by steering the Swans to their third consecutive home win in the Championship, where they have not triumphed in three straight matches while keeping a clean sheet each time since February 2021.
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It was always going to take something special to breach a Burnley backline that had hitherto not conceded a Championship home goal in 2025, and so it proved in midweek, where West Brom's John Swift sent the Baggies ahead with a terrific free kick at Turf Moor.
However, the Clarets appropriately responded swiftly to Swift's set-piece as Zian Flemming levelled matters three minutes later, before bedlam broke loose at full time as CJ Egan-Riley and manager Parker both saw red for their involvement in a skirmish.
The heightened emotions were no surprise as Burnley play catch-up to the automatic promotion pack; Tuesday's stalemate means that they trail second-placed Sheffield United by two points and leaders Leeds United by four with nine regular-season matches left to play.
After keeping nine clean sheets in a row from January 17 to February 21, Burnley have now recorded just one shut-out from their last four matches in all competitions, although a staggeringly low 0.33 goals conceded per game in Championship away matches is the best figure in EFL history.
Furthermore, Burnley's 1-0 triumph over Swansea in November means that the Clarets have won each of their last three games against the Welsh outfit, and having also prevailed 2-1 at the Swansea.com Stadium in January 2023, they could now beat the Swans in back-to-back league away matches for the first time ever.
Team News
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Swansea boss Sheehan could find himself facing an unwanted defensive dilemma this weekend, as on-loan Burnley defender Hannes Delcroix is ineligible for Saturday's game on account of not being able to play his parent club.
Delcroix stepped in for Harry Darling after his fellow centre-back suffered a hip injury against Middlesbrough last weekend, and his availability for Saturday's contest is also up in the air, so either Cyrus Christie, Sam Parker or Kyle Naughton may have to fill in centrally.
Kristian Pedersen (hamstring) and Myles Peart-Harris (back) are both out of contention, but the hosts suffered no fresh blows in their loss to Watford on Wednesday.
Speaking of Burnley-owned centre-backs ineligible for the weekend's game, Clarets defender Egan-Riley was due to sit this one out through suspension after his midweek sending-off, although the visitors have now succeeded with an appeal.
As a result, Egan-Riley is fine to reprise his regular partnership with Maxime Esteve, as Joe Worrall is kept waiting for a first Championship start since September 21.
Aaron Ramsey is likely to be out until after the international break on account of his hamstring injury, while Lyle Foster came off after coming on as a substitute against West Brom, although there is hope that the striker has only suffered a dead leg.
Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Vigouroux; Key, Naughton, Cabango, Tymon; O'Brien, Franco; Ronald, Cullen, Eom; Vipotnik
Burnley possible starting lineup:
Trafford; Roberts, Esteve, Egan-Riley, Pires; Cullen, Brownhill; Edwards, Hannibal, Koleosho; Flemming
We say: Swansea City 0-1 Burnley
Swansea's character and mental fortitude could not be called into question at Vicarage Road, even if they ended up on the wrong end of the scoreline, and they have the defensive nous to frustrate their Premier League-chasing counterparts.
However, Sheehan's men are now pitting their wits against the rearguard masters, who also possess more difference-makers in attack and should only need the one strike to reignite their top-two charge.
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Ben Knapton
