SWANSEA CITY are just one game away from the Premier League.
Standing in their way are a Brentford side who are determined to go one better than last season.
The Championship Play-off final takes place this Saturday, May 29, kick off 3pm, with both sides firmly believing they can make it to the big-time.
Swansea will be looking to return to the top flight for the first time since their relegation in 2018 while Brentford will be looking to secure their first appearance in the Premier League.
The game will be a repeat of last season’s play-off semi-final which saw Brentford come out on top before they ultimately came up short against London-neighbours Fulham in the final.
Brentford’s appearance at Wembley may give them the edge over a Swansea side who have not been to Wembley since their League Cup triumph in 2013.
Many of Brentford’s players will have experienced that defeat to Fulham last season and will not want to go through that pain again.
Steve Cooper’s team though are a different side from the one that scraped into the play-offs in the final game of last season.
They have flirted with the automatic promotion spots this season and have proven they can win games by the odd goal as well as the odd thrashing.
The Swans have also become sounder at the back, conceding only 39 goals in the league, the third best record of all the teams in the Championship.
Andre Ayew has scored 17 goals this season, many of them crucial, while Jamal Lowe has also found the net on 14 occasions.
Conor Hourihane was also brought in by Cooper and his experience has no doubt helped improve the team.
HEAD TO HEAD
There has been nothing to separate the two sides this season with both their games ending in 1-1 draws.
Ayew and Hourihane scored the goals against the Bees and they will again pose a threat on Saturday.
Brentford’s Ivan Toney is the Championships top scorer with 32 goals so far this season and he could be Premier League-bound even if the Bees fail to win the final.
Swansea fans will not need reminding of last season’s play-off defeat to Brentford but Saturday’s Championship Play-off final will be a different game.
It will be a one-off game, one that could be decided by an odd goal or a moment of brilliance.
PLAY-OFF SEMI-FINALS
Swansea beat Barnsley in their semi-final as they beat the Tykes 1-0 in the first leg at Oakwell thanks to a goal from Andre Ayew.
They took a 2-0 aggregate lead at the Liberty on Saturday (May 22) thanks to Matt Grimes’ excellent goal and although Barnsley levelled, the Swans held on to seal their place in the final.
Brentford overcame a 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth in the first leg of their semi-final as they beat the Cherries 3-1 on Saturday.
Bournemouth went 2-0 up on aggregate but Goals from Toney, Vitaly Janelt and Marcus Forss sent Brentford to Wembley.
THE FINAL
It is likely to be another close game between the sides that finished in third and fourth place in the Championship.
Brentford’s Wembley experience could give them an edge while Ivan Toney will be the Bees’ main scoring threat.
Swansea though do not concede many goals and in Andre Ayew they have someone who can come up with a goal at any time.
The game is set to be played in front of 10,000 fans although the FA Cup final was played in front of a capacity of 21,000.
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