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NederlandPromotion hopefuls Swansea City will host basement club Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday for the first time since October 2007 as they look to keep their slim hopes of automatic promotion alive.
Meanwhile, the Chairboys have claimed seven points from their last 12 available in the Championship and although survival remains a tall order, they will not go down without a fight.
Match preview
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After a dreadful run of four successive league defeats, in which they failed to score and conceded six goals, Swansea have since bounced back with two away victories against Millwall last weekend and Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday.
Goals from Jamal Lowe and Jay Fulton either side of half time secured a 2-0 win for the Swans at Hillsborough, moving them up to third and nine points clear of Reading, who sit just outside the playoffs in seventh.
Still eagerly chasing automatic promotion, Steve Cooper will want his Swansea side to improve their home form if they are to close the seven-point gap to Watford in second, having lost three of their last four at the Liberty Stadium.
Three of their final five Championship matches this season are on home soil and with Saturday's fixture against the league's lowest ranked team, Cooper's men will fancy their chances of returning to winning ways in Wales.
Swansea claimed a 2-0 win against the Chairboys at Adams Park in September, and another win should all but guarantee a top-six finish for the second successive season.
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Wycombe were unable to secure their third successive league win as they were beaten 3-1 by Luton Town at Adams Park last weekend.
The Chairboys took a one-goal lead into half time when Anis Mehmeti converted from the penalty spot in the 37th minute. However, the dismissal of Josh Knight in the 57th minute proved costly and Wycombe were unable to hold onto their lead, conceding three times in the final 10 minutes, to lose their 11th match on home soil this season.
With just five games to go and a 10-point gap to close, it is fair to say that Gareth Ainsworth's side need a football miracle to avoid the drop and so a win on Saturday is essential if they are to keep their slim hopes of survival alive.
If Wycombe are going down, however, then they will be doing so fighting after just two defeats in their last six Championship matches.
Claiming seven points from their last four games – which included victories against Blackburn Rovers and fellow relegation strugglers Rotherham United – has given the Chairboys a glimmer of hope.
Ainsworth can be proud of his side's efforts throughout this campaign and until their fate is mathematically confirmed, Wycombe will do all they can to try to stay in the second tier.
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Team News
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Swansea defender Ben Cabango has been sent home from the first-team squad after breaching coronavirus protocols.
A central defensive partnership between Marc Guehi and Ryan Bennett is set to stay intact as a result.
Cooper is hopeful of having forward Liam Cullen involved in the matchday squad soon after the 21-year-old completed his rehab from an ankle injury ahead of schedule.
After winning the last two matches with a 4-3-3 formation, there is no reason for Cooper to change the system ahead of Saturday's game, which could therefore see Lowe, Andre Ayew and Wayne Routledge all start in attack.
For Wycombe, left-back Joe Jacobson, who was forced off through injury during the first half at Rotherham and who also missed the defeat to Luton, is a doubt for this weekend.
Dominic Gape will again miss out with the calf problem he sustained at the beginning of the month, while Ryan Tafazolli and Jordan Obita are also unavailable through injury.
Centre-back Knight is suspended and with defensive options limited, Ainsworth could move Jason McCarthy into the back three alongside Anthony Stewart and Jack Grimmer, with either David Wheeler or Gareth McCleary filling in on the right flank.
Adebayo Akinfenwa will be hoping to start against his former club but is expected to begin the game on the bench, with Uche Ikpeazu and Admiral Muskwe the most likely attacking pair to start for the Chairboys.
Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Naughton, Bennett, Guehi, Manning; Fulton, Grimes, Hourihane; Ayew, Routledge, Lowe
Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Stockdale; Grimmer, Stewart, McCarthy; Wheeler, Mehmeti, Thompson, Adeniran, Onyedinma; Muskwe, Ikpeazu
We say: Swansea City 2-1 Wycombe Wanderers
Each of Swansea's last seven Championship matches have seen only one team score, with the Welsh side losing four of these matches.
Every game is a must-win for Wycombe now and although Ainsworth will likely throw caution to the wind, we feel that the Swans will edge what should be a tight encounter on Saturday.
