This Week's Opposition: Swansea City

A deep dive into The Swans with Pompey Live's Kirsty Roxanne.

The match at the Valley was abandoned due to a medical emergency where a Charlton fan sadly lost his life.

The Blues are on the road again this time to South Wales to take on relegation rivals Swansea.

MANAGER

Victor Matos is the new man in charge of The Swans.

Matos began his coaching career with youth teams in Portugal, including at Porto. After two years out in China coaching Shandong Luneng he made the return to Porto before joining Premier League club Liverpool as an elite development coach under Jürgen Klopp in 2019.

The Portuguese manager then became an assistant coach at Red Bull Salzburg and before becoming manager at Liga Portugal 2 club Marítimo, his first job as a head coach of a senior team.

Matos is the 4th Swans manager this year, he took over from interim manager Darren O’Dea who stepped up after Alan Sheehan was dismissed early November due to a poor start.

So far in his 3 matches in charge he has a 33% win percentage with 2 defeats and 1 victory.

ONE TO WATCH

Gonçalo Franco is our one to watch.

He spent time in the youth ranks of Boavista, Porto, Rio Ave and Leixões, making his senior breakthrough in 2020.

Franco made the move to top-flight Portuguese side Moreirense where he spent four seasons with the club making 129 league appearances, netting nice goals.

Under-20 Portugal international helped guide his side to immediate return to the top tier following relegation in 2022.

The number 17 joined Swansea in July 2024, signing a four-year contract in SA1.

TOP SCORER

With 7 goals and 1 assist, Žan Vipotnik is the leading scorer for The Swans.

Starting out in the youth system at Slovenian club Maribor he made the move to the first team. Vipotnik went on loan to Gorica and ND Triglav before signing for French team Bordeaux.

In August 2024 the forward signed for Swansea on a four-year deal following the mutual termination of his contract with Bordeaux. Last season Vipotnik finished with 7 goals, the same tally that he already has this season.

The number 9 has represented Slovenia in all youth levels from under-15 to under-21. He got the call up to the senior team, scoring in his debut game and became the second youngest player to score for Slovenia.

CURRENT FORM

The Swans sit 2 places and 3 points above the Blues who have a game in hand. After a bad run of form picking up 0 points in 5 consecutive defeats, the side managed to pick up a 2-0 victory on Saturday against Oxford United.

Can John Mousinho’s side return to safety and back to PO4 with 3 points?

Tune in for the return of Pompey Live with Jake Smith and Kirsty Roxanne from 7pm on Tuesday (December 9th) evening.

Kick-off: 7:45pm!