Swansea v Boro preview

14 August 2009 14:11
// A bit of a hack but it works// The article snippet is wrapped onto a second line, even when #article-sub is emptyif( $("div#article-sub").children().length == 0 ) {$("div#article-sub").remove();} Swansea could be without Jordi Lopez for Saturday's Championship clash against Middlesbrough at the Liberty Stadium.[LNB] The Spaniard suffered a dead leg in Tuesday's Carling Cup victory against Brighton and is facing a race against time to be fit to face Boro.[LNB]Boss Paulo Sousa will definitely be without midfielder Joe Allen (hamstring) while defender Albert Serran also misses out with an ankle injury sustained during training.[LNB]Welshman Ashley Williams has returned from international duty and is available but midfielders Darren Pratley (shoulder), Ferrie Bodde (knee) and Thomas Butler (groin) will play no part and remain on the treatment table.[LNB]Carling Cup hero Stephen Dobbie, who grabbed two in the midweek win over Brighton, can expect to retain his place up front to face Gareth Southgate's side.[LNB]Lita in lineSouthgate has less injuries to deal with than his counterpart and could hand free signing Leroy Lita his first start.[LNB]The striker was snapped up by the Boro boss after being released by Reading and made his debut as a second half substitute in last Friday's 0-0 draw with Sheffield United.[LNB]However, in demand striker Tuncay has recovered from tonsilitis and featured for Turkey in their 3-0 win in Ukraine on Wednesday and may be preferred to Lita up front.[LNB]Brazilian striker Afonso Alves is also close to full fitness again having played 45 minutes in a behind-closed-doors game against Motherwell during the week.[LNB]Didier Digard is definitely ruled out after sustaining a slight abductor strain against the Blades and will be unavailable for a further two to three weeks.[LNB]As a result, Gary O'Neil has delayed his hernia operation until the end of the month and should start in place of the Frenchman.[LNB]

Source: SKY_Sports