Swansea City

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Moussa Yeo could make his Mali debut on the back of his start to life at Swansea City, with Vitor Matos describing the winger as a "joy" to work with.

Yeo has scored three goals in 13 Swansea appearances since joining from Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg in July.

The 22-year-old's form has earned the former Mali Under-20 international a first senior international call-up.

Winger Yeo, who returned to action after a hamstring injury at Birmingham City last weekend, will hope to play some part as Mali take on Rwanda twice in African Cup of Nations qualification, on Friday and next Tuesday.

"I think he's been doing a really good season until now," said Swansea head coach Matos.

"He's a joy and he's a breath of fresh air in terms of how much joy he takes from every situation and all the games. He's a wonderful kid, always happy, always trying to help the team, trying to stay alive in every situation.

"So I am really happy for him and really happy to have him here with us."

Yeo joins the significant group of international players in Swansea's squad, although Marko Stamenic and Eli Just have not gone away with New Zealand in this international break.

Stephen Welsh and Stephen Eustaquio have also stayed with the club due to fitness issues, with Swansea hopeful both will be available when they return to action against West Brom on Saturday, 21 November.

Matos says Yeo will be able to cope with the challenge of travelling round the globe and then returning shortly before Championship football resumes.

"I hope there will be more to come for him in terms of international games, and for us as well I hope that he can keep now the consistency with being in the national team and then arriving back here," Matos added.

"That's always a little bit of the challenge, but if someone can do it, it's him."

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The Football Association (FA) have contacted Birmingham City for an explanation after objects were thrown on to the field during the Blues' win over Swansea City last weekend.

The game at St Andrew's was interrupted in the second half as Swansea goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux complained that missiles were being thrown from the crowd.

Birmingham have now issued a statement, external saying "the actions of a very small minority cast a shadow over" their 2-1 win.

"Several objects were thrown onto the pitch from the Tilton End. This is completely unacceptable. There is no place for this behaviour at Birmingham City Football Club," the club said.

"The incidents were reported by the referee to the Football Association who have contacted the club for an explanation of the events. The club is working closely with the police and assisting them with their enquiries.

"We will support the police with its investigations to ensure the appropriate action is taken against anyone who is identified to have broken the law."

Former Bromley boss Andy Woodman joins Aaron Paul and Jobi McAnuff in the latest episode of the 72+ podcast. He lifts the lid on life after leaving Bromley and what's next for him.

They discuss the top of the Championship, with just one point separating the top five.

At the other end of the Championship, what's happening with Bristol City, who currently lie 17th in the league under former Lincoln manager Michael Skubala – and when is the right time for a manager to make the jump up?

In League Two, it's been a less than desirable start for Crawley Town who are bottom of the Football League and out of the FA Cup after being beaten by seventh-tier Wimborne – where do they go from here? Elsewhere in the FA Cup, Plymouth Parkway assistant manager Matt Godfrey drops by after their win – and with Barnet on the horizon.

And after Shrewsbury Town's new ownership is confirmed, what's next for them?

Listen to the full episode above or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

Swansea City entered the November international window with back-to-back defeats at Birmingham and Portsmouth.

It was a disappointing end to the block considering the positive start Vitor Matos' side had made to the Championship.

Having once topped the table they have now dropped to sixth.

We asked Swans' fans for their thoughts on how the season has gone so far, what improvements are needed and if they think recent results are just a blip or has the bubble burst?

Here is what they had to say:

Keith: After the Cardiff game we will know. To be a serious contender, you have to win your home games, so three points against WBA and three points against Cardiff and I'll be confident of our progress in this league.

Iwan: Been a rough couple of weeks but the injuries have stacked up and we've struggled to find answers to some issues. Glad for the international break. Big few weeks coming up, I think we'll be fine.

Paolo: I am not professing to be an arm chair manager. I believe in Matos as a manager. He has worked wonders on the players. What I do not understand is why their away from is completely opposite to their home form. Although even at home sometimes you feel there is a lack of creativity when attacking. As a fan you feel sometimes they lack that clinical instinct to finish the game off, to try something different in creating opportunities to score. I still believe this is a blip we are only three points off the top and still have a chance to end in the play-offs.

Chris: Would have been delighted with sixth place and three points off top in August but I think, at last, the team's weaknesses are coming through. Centre backs apart, from Walsh struggling to play on the ball, right back still a weakness, centre of pitch hit and miss and rotation upfront just not working. Pick your number nine and stick with them. However I think next three matches are crucial for Swansea's season and no less than seven points will be acceptable.

Eddie: Laird's reaction to the tackle was embarrassing along with his team mates. If the ref hadn't been duped then we would have won and now been joint second. Until the sending off, we were the best side and managed to get an equaliser with 10 men. Brum's team are a joke, we will be back on form and stay in the top six.

Phil: After the international break it'll be very interesting. We have three very difficult games, WBA, Boro and the Bluebirds. This will decide how good we really are. I'll happily take five points now.

David: I wasn't getting carried away when we were top a few weeks ago. Had a feeling we were in a false position. The main problem is we are not scoring enough goals to stay in the top eight. Now we are conceding goals it's more of an issue. Not enough creativity in midfield. Matos is chopping and changing too much. Signing Just and letting Cullen go was a big mistake. It's still early days but not confident at the moment

Steff: Every club will have dips in form and suffer a run of bad results. The Swans have lost four of their last five, but still sit just three points off the top of the table. I think, since the elongated international break, most clubs have struggled with consistency. It's now about how Matos' Swans re-group and return from this next international break.

Image source, BBC Sport

As club football takes a break for the next set of international games, and with 15 games of the season completed, coaches, players and fans have a natural point to sit back and assess the campaign so far.

Swansea were arguably one of the unfancied sides in the Championship, but they made light of their odds with a string of impressive performances that saw them occupy either first or second in the division.

Given that storming start, a 5-0 loss at Queen's Park Rangers at the end of October came out of the blue, but normal service seemed to have been resumed when Vitor Matos' side bounced back with a 4-0 thumping of Blackburn Rovers.

But back-to-back defeats in November at Portsmouth and then Saturday's 2-1 reverse at Birmingham City have seen the Swans drop to sixth in the table.

Swans fans, what are your thoughts on how the season has gone so far, what's impressed you most and what can be improved?

Has a bubble been burst by the last two losses, or is this just a blip in a season that will still have many twists and turns to come?

Let us know what you think by clicking here.

Gareth Vincent
BBC Sport Wales

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Swansea City's fourth defeat in five matches prompted Vitor Matos to perform the chin-up gesture which was once made famous by Chris Gunter.

Welsh football fans will need no reminding that Gunter put his hand beneath his chin after Wales' defeat by England at Euro 2016.

Wales, of course, bounced back in some style a decade ago, and Matos is looking for a response now after the most difficult run of his Swansea reign.

Matos' team were beaten by a late goal at Birmingham City on Saturday when it seemed for a while like they would claim a very creditable point.

The Blues have been in sparkling form, and are particularly formidable on their patch.

Yet Swansea missed a penalty – and hit the woodwork – before Marko Stamenic's 26th-minute red card turned the contest in the home side's favour.

Jay Stansfield quickly opened the scoring – and Birmingham came close to stretching their lead before half-time – but Swansea hung on in there and levelled through Christoph Klarer's own goal.

Birmingham looked short of attacking inspiration after the break until an 87th-minute corner was not dealt with and Stansfield rattled in his second of the afternoon to send Chris Davies' team top of the table and Swansea down to sixth.

The Swans made a spectacular start to this league campaign, losing only one of their first 10 league games.

Then came defeats to West Ham United and - in embarrassing fashion – Queens Park Rangers before a thumping home victory over Blackburn Rovers last weekend lightened the mood.

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

It will be a little gloomier over the international break, however, after back-to-back away losses at Portsmouth and Birmingham, both of which came as the result of late goals.

The good news, of course, is that Swansea remain nicely placed in the table, with just three points separating Matos' men and the new leaders.

Not only that, but there were elements of Swansea's display at Birmingham – their greater threat with 11 men, and their resilience with 10 – which offer hope for the fixtures ahead.

"When you have this type of performance, this type of mentality, for sure you will come back," Matos declared at St Andrew's.

Nothing will come easy as Swansea look to turn their form around, however.

West Bromwich Albion, who are fifth, are up next before a trip to second-placed Middlesbrough.

And then comes the fixture which matters most, against Brian Barry-Murphy's improving Cardiff City side.

It would be a demanding week at the best of times.

After their recent struggles, Swansea must dig deep if they are to ensure chins stay high.

Birmingham City and Swansea City appear to be heading in different directions as they prepare to face each other at St Andrew's on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

Blues have won six of their past eight games (D1 L1) to rise to third on the table with a chance of rising to the top if things go their way this weekend.

Their only loss in that time was to Cardiff City though and while their next trip to Wales will be against a side who have lost three of their past four (W1), Swansea could make it another miserable crossing of the border.

The Swans are on the same amount of points as Birmingham and will be hoping they can reclaim their spot at the apex to restabilise after their bad string of results.

• Birmingham are unbeaten in their last 10 league games against Swansea (W4 D6) since a 3-1 home loss in July 2020.

• Swansea are winless in their last five away league games against Birmingham (D2 L3), having been unbeaten in their previous five at St Andrew's (W2 D3).

• Birmingham are unbeaten in their last 10 home league games (W6 D4), winning the last three by an aggregate score of 10-0. They last won four in a row without conceding in the second tier (or higher) in April 2007.

• Swansea have lost three of their last four league games (W1), more than they had in their previous 17 (W10 D5 L2).

• Alex Cochrane has scored in each of his last two league games (2 goals), as many goals as he'd scored in his first 75 league appearances for Birmingham.

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Vitor Matos expects the logjam at the top of the Championship to ease as the season continues – and says Swansea City's task is to ensure they are not left behind.

Swansea have slipped to fifth in the second tier after the midweek round of fixtures, but would be top of the pile had they won their game at Portsmouth.

Only two points currently separate the Championship's top five, while leaders Middlesbrough are just six points better off than Pompey in 10th.

Swansea have been in the top two for much of the season so far, but have slipped down the table having suffered three defeats in their past four games.

Even so, they could return to the summit if they win at third-placed Birmingham City on Saturday and other results go their way.

"It's really tight," said Swansea head coach Matos.

"I think it will take a little bit of time until [the teams] start to spread more.

"What we need is to try to stay calm, focus on what we can do better and what we need to do to be competitive, and then step by step stay around this group of teams and then we'll see how it ends."

Image source, Huw Evans Picture Agency

Swansea's current run – their worst since Matos took charge last November – began with home defeat by West Ham last month.

They were then thrashed at Queens Park Rangers before responding with a resounding home win against Blackburn last weekend, but could not build on that success as two stoppage-time goals earned Portsmouth victory on Tuesday.

Matos has once again stressed the need for his players to remain "emotionally stable" as they look to stay in the automatic promotion race.

"As more games come, [the table] starts to be more clear in terms of where each team can sit," he added.

"I think that's what will happen until the Christmas period and then when the Championship flips [in the second half of the season]. It's always like that. Even Premier League is like that.

"At the moment for us, we focus on what we can do better and what we can do to be really competitive against any type of opposition."

We asked for your views after Swansea City's 3-1 defeat at Portsmouth on Tuesday.

Vitor Matos' side have lost three of their past four matches – comfortably their worst run of the season – as they prepare for Saturday's trip to Birmingham City.

Here are some of your comments.

Michael – Welsh and Eustaqio provide most of the creativity. The other midfielders are all 6ft box-to-box [players]. Just has been disappointing since the international break dragged him and Stamenic to New Zealand and Eustaquio back to Canada. Leo Walta hopefully returns in January and they give him a run - but he's a 100% skill guy and not sure he can press like Matos wants to.

Neither Cabango nor Seelt can play out from the back comfortably. Need Lissah in the middle and roll with Josh Key at full-back.

Dave - Playing well, but they are stumbling week in, week out with big losses. Probably need a couple of signings in January, to keep the train rolling along to the Premier League again.

Alun – Typical mid-table. Swansea are pretty poor - one shot on target in first half and that was weak - hardly top of the table stuff!

Cyril - Second best for the first 60. Opoku was as shambolic and half-hearted tonight as he was good last Saturday. Stewart with an assist for the penalty, then missed when it was easier to score. Can't hit a telling shot collectively and missed Welsh when he went off. Cabango can't defend. Fair play to Portsmouth - they were bright throughout, worked harder than the Swans who were undone time and again by their pace and energy. Swans might make the play-offs, but there are still too many weaknesses in the squad for top two.

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Swansea City have been spared the prospect of losing midfielder Eom Jisung in January after the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia was postponed due to security fears.

It is highly likely Eom, 24, would have been called up by South Korea for the 24-team tournament that was scheduled to take place from 7 January to 5 February.

It could have meant Eom missing as many as five Championship matches while he was away on international duty.

But Eom will now be available for Vitor Matos' side after the Asian Cup was rescheduled to run from 23 December, 2027 to 21 January, 2028.

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Swansea City defender Cameron Burgess says he is "progressing well" in his recovery as he targets a return from a ruptured Achilles.

The 31-year-old Australia international suffered the injury during the season-opening EFL Cup defeat to Birmingham City in August.

"It was unfortunate, but things are going really well at the moment, as good as can be expected at this point," Burgess told BBC Radio Wales Sport before Saturday’s win over Blackburn Rovers.

"There's a long way to go and hopefully it keeps going well.

"That's exactly what football does to you, it throws up surprises. The hard work begins for something that I haven't really had too much in my career, so bring it on and get back stronger."

Burgess hopes to return to action before the end of the season to help the second-placed Swans maintain their lofty position in the Championship.

"Protocol says I think it could be seven to nine months," he added.

"So I think you look at nine months and you base off that and anything else is a bonus. I'll try my absolute best - if I can get back training with the lads sooner rather than later, that would be a great start and then we go from there.

"One thing I can say is it's a hell of a lot easier to watch the boys doing really well versus if they were to be struggling and you can't help, so long may it continue. I'm a massive supporter of the boys and especially the back four who have done really well."