When Preston North End roll into the Liberty Stadium tomorrow they will face a Swansea side fresh from claiming a Premiership sc

Dumping Pompy out of the FA Cup in the fourth round , there is no doubt that Swansea are fast becoming a force to be reckoned with. Breaking the clubs eight game draw streak against Burnley at Turf Moor and a magnificent display against Reading at home a week later the Swans will be brimming with confidence of doing the double over the Deepdale club.

Lying in ninth in the championship just six points off Preston, Swansea go into the week with the prospect of making real strides in the league with a visit to a struggling Southampton side on Saturday could make it a very profitable 6 days for Roberto Martinez's side.

However the lilywhites will not be in the mood to let their own promotion push falter. Excellent wins against Burnley and league leaders Wolverhampton Wanders this month will have given tomorrow's visitors a boost.

Preston manager Alan Irvine will be hoping that some of his players are not complacent after the club sanctioned time off for the playing staff in their 10 day fixture break. However Irvine believes that the break was the right thing to do as he told the Lancashire Evening Post, he said “ If we had been going away for three days I would have been expecting to get five training sessions in during that time, whereas the lads would probably have been looking to get five shopping sessions in.

"I didn't feel as though we were likely to reach a happy compromise there so it was decided that I would give them their own time and they could choose to do what they wanted with that time."

Injury Lists:

Preston will be without influential and leading scorer Neil Mellor after the former Liverpool man suffered a re-occurrence of a groin strain after he collided with an advertising hoarding against Burnley.

Defender Neal Trotman is also out with a short term ligament problem to his knee whilst Liam Chilvers could be back in contention after overcoming a ruptured Achilles tendon. Chris Sedgwick is also sidelined after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season. Wayne Henderson and Micheal Hart are also both sidelined.

Swansea are thought to be without the services of Tom Butler as the winger is still short of match fitness following a groin injury. Right back Matty Collins is also out with an ankle injury. Ever improving midfielder Joe Allen may miss the game after picking a slight hamstring injury against Portsmouth on Saturday.

Players To Watch:

Nathan Dyer: After his cup heroics against Portsmouth the pacy winger is vast turning into another inspired acquisition by Roberto Martinez. Giving vital support to Jason Scotland in the Trinidad and Tobago internationals lone striker role has given the Swansea attack more freedom and has caused both Burnley, Reading and Pompy problems.

Ross Wallace: Preston fans have been impressed by the former Sunderland man this season. Signed initially on loan for the Deepdale club, Lilywhites boss Alan Irvine was quick to sign the winger on a permanent deal this month. Making a positive impact on the Lancashire club the Scot will be a handful tomorrow night.

The Form Book Based On The Last Five Results:

Swansea City: DWWWW

Preston North End: WDLWW

Man In The Middle/Men On The Lines:

Referee: P. Gibbs
Assistant Officials: A Matthews and A D Sainsbury
Fourth Official R G Vaughan

Planet Swans Prediction: Swansea City 2-0 Preston North End

Photo: Action Images

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