Swansea v Wigan preview

Swansea City and Wigan Athletic will be looking to halt alarming five-match winless runs when they do battle on Saturday.

A bright start to life under Michael Laudrup suggested the Swans were ready to build on their achievements from last season, with seven points taken from their opening three fixtures. Laudrup has, however, found out the hard way that honeymoon periods in the Premier League only last so long. The Dane has stuck to the footballing philosophies of his predecessor Brendan Rodgers, and is a coach held in high regard, but he faces the first real challenge of his reign in attempting to get Swansea back on track. Wigan boss Roberto Martinez will be hoping the wobble being endured by his former employers drags on for at least another week, with the Latics in desperate need of a pick-me-up themselves. Three defeats in their last four has them in an all too familiar position just outside the relegation zone. An away record which has seen them keep just two clean sheets in their last 21 games on the road does not bode well, especially as Swansea still consider their Liberty Stadium home to be something of a fortress.Laudrup could decide to keep faith with the side that recovered from 2-0 down to draw with Reading when Swansea return to the Premier League field after the international break. Striker Danny Graham looks set to continue ahead of Luke Moore, despite being withdrawn at the interval against the Royals, while Ki Sung-yueng could again keep Jonathan de Guzman out of the starting XI. Kemy Agustien is back in contention after a calf problem while Pablo Hernandez will hope to displace Nathan Dyer or Wayne Routledge on the flanks. Neil Taylor is a long-term absentee with a broken ankle. Wigan will be without defender Antolin Alcaraz and winger Albert Crusat when they travel to South Wales. Alcaraz has not played since the Capital One Cup win over Nottingham Forest at the end of August because of a groin injury and is likely to be out for another couple of weeks, while Crusat has a knee problem. Martinez will also monitor Maynor Figueroa and Jean Beausejour closely after their long international trips with Honduras and Chile respectively.