MATCH FACTS
THE OPPOSITION
Swansea City's early season form may have evaporated somewhat in recent weeks but it's still been an excellent start for The Swans under rookie club manager Steve Cooper.
Graeme Potter earned plenty of admirers for the job that he did with Swansea back in the second tier last term and there were fears when he, along with star-winger Dan James and top scorer Oli McBurnie, all departed in the summer that this could be a long season in South Wales. However, early signs under the former England Under-17 manager have been promising.
The Swans were almost flawless in August, winning seven and drawing one of their eight games in all competitions. When Wayne Routledge struck the 90th-minute winner at Elland Road at the end of the month, The Swans went into the international break top of the pile and flying. Since then it has been a slightly different story. Just six points from six Championship games have dropped Swansea to third and their last two games have seen them beaten at home by Stoke City and held at Barnsley.
In Borja Baston, Swansea have one of the second tier's top scorers while at the other end, Joe Rodon, Mike Van Der Hoorn, and Freddie Woodman have been ever presents in a defensive unit that has conceded just ten goals in 12 league games.
THE MANAGER
Steve Cooper spent four years playing in Wales before retiring at 23 to become Wrexham's Head of Youth. A UEFA Pro Licence holder at 26, Cooper moved to Liverpool in 2008 and became Academy Manager in 2011. During his time at Melwood he worked with the likes of Raheem Sterling, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Wales international Ben Woodburn.
He moved to the FA in 2013 as a youth coach educator and coached the England Under-16s in 2014, before making the step up to under-17 level the following year. He led the Young Lions to the final of the 2017 European Championship, where they lost to Spain on penalties, but they gained revenge later in the year by coming from 2-0 down to beat the same opponents 5-2 in the World Cup final. With Graeme Potter heading to Brighton in the summer, Cooper was handed his first club managerial role after six years with the FA.
TEAM NEWS
Brentford will be without Sergi Canos, Nikos Karelis, Mads Bech Sorensen, and Luka Racic for tonight's trip to The Liberty.
Swansea will give a fitness check to Joe Rodon after the defender aggravated an ankle injury during Saturday's 1-1 draw at Barnsley. Ben Wilmot and Ben Cabango are potential replacements, while winger Aldo Kalulu (ankle) is definitely out.
PRE-MATCH BUILD UP
🆚 Hot off the Press: Ian Mitchelmore looks ahead to tonight's action
LAST MEETING
TICKET INFO
Tickets for tonight's game are off sale and there will be NO Pay on the Day.
HOW TO FOLLOW
iFollow Brentford will be live from 7.15pm with Mark Burridge, Mick Cabble and Ciaran Brett bringing you all the action as we look to follow up Saturday's remarkable victory over Millwall.
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