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Swansea City will be looking to cement their playoff chances as they host Preston North End on Monday.
Swansea City are coming off three consecutive losses as they prepare to take on Preston North End at the Liberty Stadium. Their quest for automatic promotion is as good as dead now as they languish at third in the EFL Championship table, nine points behind second-placed Watford albeit with a game in hand.
Birmingham City snatched a late winner from the spot in stoppage time to cause heartbreak for the Swans on Friday night. Meanwhile, Preston North End scored in added time to hold league leaders Norwich City to a 1-1 draw after Emi Buendia had given the Canaries an early lead.
Swansea City won't want to slip up any more as Brentford are now just a point behind them in fourth. Manager Steve Cooper expressed his disappointment after his side suffered a third successive defeat and lost ground in the race for automatic promotion. He said:
"That wasn't a good version of us - we're a much better team than that. The result is the most disappointing but the performance is right up there in terms of disappointment, because we didn't play anywhere near the level we can play in so many ways.
"I'm not saying we got what we deserved but we have certainly got to play better going forward, that's for sure. We weren't good. We've just not played well enough. It's important that we don't panic, we stick together, I lead well and we remain focused because everything's still there to play for."
Swansea City vs Preston North End Head-to-Head
Swansea City have dominated Preston North End in the last ten clashes between the two. The Swans have won six of the last ten while Preston North End have won twice. Two matches have ended as draws.
The last time these two sides met was in the corresponding fixture in the first half of the season and Swansea City won the game 1-0.
Swansea City form guide: D-W-L-L-L
Preston North End form guide: D-L-L-L-D
Swansea City vs Preston North End Team News
Swansea City
Liam Cullen (ankle), Tivonge Rushesha (ACL) and Steven Benda (ankle) are all long-term absentees for the Swans. Andre Ayew started for Swansea City against Birmingham on Friday while Conor Hourihane was on the bench.
Paul Arriola has returned to DC United after having his loan spell canceled.
Injuries: Liam Cullen, Tivonge Rushesha and Steven Benda
Doubtful: None
Suspensions: None
Preston North End
Alan Browne will serve the third instalment of his three-match ban against Swansea City. Declan Rudd is still out with a knee injury and Patrick Bauer is still recovering from his Achilles tendon surgery.
Injuries: Declan Rudd and Patrick Bauer
Doubtful: None
Suspensions: Alan Browne
Swansea City vs Preston North End Predicted Lineups
Swansea City Predicted XI (3-4-1-2): Freddie Woodman (GK); Marc Guehi, Ryan Bennett, Kyle Naughton; Jake Bidwell, Matt Grimes, Jay Fulton, Connor Roberts; Conor Hourihane; Jamal Lowe, Andre Ayew
Preston North End Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Daniel Iversen, Sepp van den Berg, Jordan Storey, Liam Lindsay, Joe Rafferty, Ben Whiteman, Ryan Ledson, Scott Sinclair, Daniel Johnson, Anthony Gordon, Sean Maguire
Swansea City vs Preston North End Prediction
Swansea City are on a poor run. Preston North End haven't fared much better either. We expect Steve Cooper's men to come out and get their season back on track on Monday given their solid record in recent meetings against their Monday opponents.
Prediction: Swansea City 1-0 Preston North End
