Stakes high in early-season south Wales derby

Swansea City and Cardiff City have typically had time to get their houses in order before having to step out for a row with the neighbours.

Not this year. The south Wales derby takes place at the Swansea.com Stadium this Sunday, on just the third weekend of the new Championship season.

This is the game fans of both Swansea and Cardiff seek out when fixtures are revealed in the summer.

In 2024-25, they did not have to look far down the list.

Not since their meeting on 24 August, 1957 have the two Welsh heavyweights come toe to toe for a league fixture so early in a season.

As they prepare for the game which matters most to their supporters, the rival clubs may be united, for once, by a feeling that they are a little undercooked.

Swansea began their home league season with a 3-0 win over Preston North End last Saturday, with the margin of victory matching the best achieved on their patch throughout the last campaign.

They may have caught managerless Preston at a good time, but a comprehensive success provided the ideal confidence boost going into the derby, particularly after an opening-day defeat at Middlesbrough in which Swansea lacked menace.

Despite the Preston success, head coach Luke Williams stressed this week that his team are “nowhere near where we want to be”.

They key issue for Swansea is that while they have the makings of a competitive starting side, there is precious little depth in Williams’ squad.

A whopping 13 senior players – plus youngsters Cameron Congreve and Joel Cotterill - have departed since the end of last season, while their tally of new recruits still stands at only four.

Chairman Andy Coleman has said the club’s business is far from done, and Swansea may yet have further new faces on board by the time Cardiff head along the motorway.

Nobody would argue that signings are not needed.

Swansea’s options are limited in goal, in defence, in midfield and in attack.

Not for the first time in recent years, the lack of dynamic wide players is a particular issue.

Ronald has made an impact since arriving from Portugal in January, with the Brazilian proving to be Swansea’s most impactful player in the early stages of the new season.

What Williams could really do with is a couple more players with Ronald’s attributes, to give him options throughout the season ahead.

Signings do not guarantee success, of course, but Swansea need greater numbers to give themselves a fighting chance of coping with the grind of the Championship.

As far as the Cardiff fixture is concerned, Williams looks like having to rely largely on the limited squad deployed against Preston.

Cardiff took their time before sorting out the future of Erol Bulut in the summer, with the former Fenerbahce boss eventually given a new two-year deal in early June on the back of the progress he oversaw in the Welsh capital last season.

Bulut won plenty of admirers during the last campaign, when he led a team who finished one place above the bottom three in 2022-23 to a mid-table finish.

Continuity in the Cardiff manager’s office, combined with some decent-looking summer transfer work, meant there was optimism in the air as the Bluebirds walked out to face Sunderland on the opening day of this season.

But a 2-0 home defeat was followed by 5-0 mauling at Burnley last weekend.

The second-half display at Turf Moor was particularly dispiriting, even though Burnley are among the promotion favourites and Cardiff gave them plenty to think about before the break.

BBC Radio Wales pundit Kevin Ratcliffe called Cardiff’s efforts in the second period at Burnley “embarrassing” – having described “some of the football” in the first half as being “as good as I have seen Cardiff play”.

The cold facts are that Bulut’s team are one of only three second-tier teams without a point this season, and one of two who are yet to score a league goal.

Though 2024-25 is only a matter of days old, there is already talk of pressure on Bulut as he prepares for a third taste of the south Wales derby.

Bulut is regarded by some as a manager whose first priority is to get the defensive side of the game right, and that would be a good start at Swansea after Burnley's flurry of goals.

There may be a new face in the Cardiff backline, with Jesper Daland available having arrived from Cercle Brugge as a replacement for Mark McGuinness.

Where Daland fits in with the likes of Dimitrios Goutas and Calum Chambers will be interesting, while Cardiff may have issues in midfield after Joe Ralls and Aaron Ramsey picked up injuries at Burnley.

Manchester United defender Will Fish may soon follow Daland, Chambers, Alex Robertson, Chris Willock, Wiflried Kanga and the as yet unseen Anwar El Ghazi by signing for Cardiff in this window.

But there are some who feel the area where Cardiff really need fresh faces is attack - with pace a particular requirement - and Bulut is hoping for further recruits.

Swansea and Cardiff are among the many clubs with work to do before the transfer window closes in nine days’ time.

But the immediate focus for Williams and Bulut will be Sunday’s game, for this is a fixture which counts for more than three points.

A home win would darken the mood at the Cardiff City Stadium, while fuelling the belief that with a few more recruits, Swansea could enjoy a more positive season after the struggles of the last campaign.

An away triumph, by contrast, would transform the atmosphere at Cardiff while emphasising the need for Swansea to strengthen.

The latest league meeting between these clubs will become one of only a handful ever played in August.

But while the fixture comes early in the season, the significance remains the same.