Middlesbrough welcome Swansea City to the Riverside Stadium for their Championship opener on Saturday, August 10th.
Middlesbrough kick off their 2024/25 Championship campaign with a visit from Luke Williams and his Swansea City side on August 10th.
Williams was appointed Swansea manager on January 5th, 2024. The 43-year-old is an attack-minded manager, similar to Michael Carrick.
The pair faced off once in the second half of the 2023/24 Championship campaign with Boro coming out on top.
Emmanuel Latte Lath scored a brace in a 2-0 win for the Teessiders on April 6th, 2024.
Swansea ended the previous campaign sat 14th with 57 points, 12 points adrift of eighth-place Middlesbrough.
But what have Swansea and Williams been up to so far this summer? Here is everything you need to know about Boro’s upcoming opponents.
Who has Luke Williams signed at Swansea City so far this summer
Swansea City have, so far, had a quieter transfer window than Middlesbrough, signing two new players.
The Welsh outfit have brought in Ji-sung Eom from South Korean outfit, Gwangju FC
Eom is a versatile left-winger who spent much of 2024 playing as a centre-forward. He scored two and assisted three in 15 outings before moving to England.
Williams’ only other signing this window is Goncalo Franco, who joined from Portuguese side Moreirense.
Franco is a 23-year-old central midfielder who scored two and assisted four in 32 Liga Portugal games last term.
What does Swansea City’s pre-season look like under Luke Williams
Swansea began their pre-season preparation with two 60-minute games versus Newport County.
The two sides then played a full 90 minutes on July 17th after the Swans’ friendly with Swindon Town was cancelled. Williams’ team picked up a 5-0 win over Newport.
Swansea are next in action on July 20th when they take on League One side Plymouth Argyle at Home Park.
This will be followed by meetings with Bristol Rovers, Stade Rennais and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
What should Michael Carrick and Middlesbrough expect from Luke Williams’ Swansea City
Following Swansea’s 2-0 defeat to Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium in April, Williams branded his side’s display as ‘unacceptable’.
Swansea were 16th in the Championship when Williams took over in January so there has not been too much improvement in terms of league position.
However, the 43-year-old is trying to implement a new style of play at the Liberty Stadium.
Much like Carrick at Middlesbrough, Williams wants his side to build up play from the back, dominating possession in a bid to create chances.
Swansea perhaps did not have the right personnel to succeed last season, but with a couple of new faces through the door and Williams now having a pre-season with his squad, Boro should expect a much tougher challenge than the one they faced earlier this year.