SWANS: ‘10 games is 10 games’: Matos won’t get carried away as West Ham test Swansea’s promotion credentials

Vitor Matos says Swansea’s place at the top of the Championship counts for little after 10 games, as the country’s highest scorers arrive at the Swansea.com Stadium this afternoon (3pm).

The Swans have won four in a row and have 23 points from their opening 10 league games, with seven wins, two draws and one defeat.

Only once have they made a better start at this stage of a Football League season: 1923-24, when they would have had 25 points counting three for a win.

“10 games is 10 games, there’s so much more to come, there’s so many hard moments, different context, injuries, suspensions, transfer window so there’s still a lot that can change and make the table drift for us,” Matos said.

“We can compete against any opponent”

Asked about being ahead of the promotion favourites, he pointed to the work on the training ground. “That’s what the table says, for us, the most important thing is what we can do every day, that’s what the players have been doing and what they are focused on, it’s really to try to improve,” he said.

“There’s still a lot of things that we can do better. What I’ve seen a lot from my squad is that we can compete against any opponent, that’s what I’ve seen and that’s what we want.”

He also pointed to the workload. “We cannot forget that we are still coming from an international break with three games in eight days. Some of them have [played] four games in the international break.”

West Ham: 29 goals in 10 games

West Ham are four points behind the Swans and are the top scorers in England’s four divisions, with 29 goals in 10 games. Six of those came in Wednesday’s win at Lincoln.

They are unbeaten in five away games, with nine points on the road.

Jarrod Bowen scored once and set up two at Lincoln, becoming the first player in England’s top four tiers this season to reach five goals and five assists. He now has six goals and five assists.

“West Ham have a lot of quality individually and collectively, we know which kind of opponent we’re going to face,” Matos said.

“We respect them a lot and in the same way we believe as well on ourselves and on our way of playing.”

Unbeaten at home, but Boro could go top first

The Swans are unbeaten at home this season, with 11 points from five games and only two goals conceded.

Second-placed Middlesbrough, two points behind them, play Cardiff at lunchtime, and a win would send Boro top before kick-off.

West Ham’s poor record in Swansea

The last league meeting between the sides ended in a 4-1 Swans win in March 2018.

West Ham have won only one of their last six league visits to Swansea, with three draws and two defeats. That win was 4-1 in the Premier League on Boxing Day 2016.

They have also lost their last two away league games against Welsh sides. A third would be their first run of three since September 1957.

Right-back still to solve

Matos is without the banned Filip Lissah and the injured Josh Key, and Stephen Eustáquio is a doubt.

Speaking on Thursday, he said Friday’s session was about getting ready. “Tomorrow we have another one to prepare West Ham and arrive there in the best shape possible to compete against a really good team.”