PREM: Middlesbrough v Swansea preview

Middlesbrough v Swansea preview

George Friend could return to Middlesbrough's starting line-up for the vital Premier League clash with fellow strugglers Swansea.

Friend has missed Boro's last five games since suffering a knee injury last month but having trained through the week, he is lined up to replace Fabio at left-back.

Gaston Ramirez faces a late test on the foot injury that has ruled him out for the last two games but striker Cristhian Stuani is still definitely ruled out with an infected foot.

Swansea are not thought to have any fresh fitness concerns.

But Federico Fernandez and Ki Sung-yueng look likely to remain absent as the Swans visit a team just one place above them in the Premier League.

Both players have been recovering from toe injuries - South Korean midfielder Ki has missed the last four games - and they are set to sit out Swansea's third game in eight days, a sequence that began with a convincing victory over fellow strugglers Sunderland before West Brom beat them 3-1.

Swansea boss Bob Bradley says "You look at the table, and games against teams that are closer to you do take on more importance. But I think we can all agree that every game is massive for us right now. We understand that the start to the season we have had, and the league position we are in, make it extra important every time we step on to the field."

"If we can put a little bit of a run together at some point, then all of a sudden we would be out of the bottom three. The disappointment of West Brom was that we were not able to build on our win against Sunderland, but now we have to try to start a good run again."

"I have watched Middlesbrough a number of times," he added. "I think they are a good team and that Aitor Karanka has done a good job. I am very familiar with Alvaro Negredo, thanks to one of the friendly matches between the US and Spain, when he played very well. He is capable of being a real presence up front, and Middlesbrough have some good footballers in their team."

Teams:

Middlesbrough (from): Valdes, Guzan, Chambers, Friend, Fabio, Barragan, Nsue, Gibson, Espinosa, De Roon, Clayton, Forshaw, Downing, Ramirez, Fischer, De Sart, Traore, Negredo, Nugent, Rhodes, Leadbitter, Ayala.

Swansea (from): Fabianski, Naughton, Van der Hoorn, Amat, Taylor, Cork, Fulton, Fer, Routledge, Barrow, Sigurdsson, Llorente, Nordfeldt, Rangel, Mawson, Kingsley, Britton, Dyer, Montero, Borja, McBurnie.