The tricky away games keep coming thick and fast for Forest with what looks a difficult trip to The Liberty Stadium on Saturday. Whilst many sides might look at the trip to South Wales with trepidation, the standard of opposition won’t do us any harm at all; Forest seem to perform against the so called better sides in The Championship. We’ve now played a number of the top sides away from home in Leeds, Charlton and Fulham and come away undefeated. With Swansea top of the league, this will be the sternest test yet!

I thought Swansea were one of the best sides we’d played last season at The City Ground, only for them to capitulate from set pieces in the last ten minutes. For the previous 80, it had been one way traffic. I honestly thought they’d struggle after Graham Potter left but they’ve been a bit of a surprise package.

I think Forest will do well to come away with a point so I’ll go for a 1-1 with Joe Worrall getting a goal.

I’d spoken to Swans fan Anthony Dews to get his take on Saturday’s game.

How is the Swansea season shaping following the opening start of The Championship? What are your expectations for the season?

The form following pre-season has been nothing short of remarkable. We have won five and drawn one. The draw was at Derby and I felt was a good result but looking back maybe we could have gone there and got all 3. Over the summer we lost our manager, Dan James to Manchester Utd and Ollie McBurnie to Sheffield Utd which was basically 70% of our goals last season. Steve Cooper came in, we had never in all honesty heard of him, and has performed a miracle considering he has never managed full time before as he was the England Under 18’s coach (where he won the under 18’s World Cup).

He’s promoted yet more youth from our Under 23’s and added with a few signings we are looking very good, along with keeping the experienced heads like Wayne Routledge and Nathan Dyer. He has also reintegrated Andre Ayew and Borja Baston back into the squad when it was said at the start of the season we needed to move them on due to their wages.

They could make a huge difference this year. We are playing a lovely brand of passing football and for once, scoring goals!!!! It can be a bit tedious at times when we are going sideways and backwards but to be fair at the moment its working and we look full of confidence in all areas of the pitch. Obviously you win nothing in August but the present feeling is we could go on a push for the play offs. It will be interesting how our young side and manager react after a few defeats which will inevitably come.

If we get top 6 this season it will be amazing but in all honesty we would settle for another mid table finish and look to push on next season if our American owners don’t sell our best players. Personally I think we could be a surprise package this year. There also a very good rapport now between fans, players and manager which we lost terribly during our last few years in the premier league.

What was the team’s performance like in your last outing?

In our last performance we beat Leeds at Elland Road for the first time in 70 years so cannot complain at all. Despite being under the cosh for large parts of the game we continued to play our football, dug in deep and got the 3 points courtesy of a Wayne Routledge winner in the 90th minute. That’s the difference so far from last year we look to be more streetwise and battle hardened along with a never say die attitude. It was also very enjoyable going into the international break top of the league.

What are the key strengths and weaknesses of your team? Who do Forest fans need to be worried about the most?

Our key strength has to be the way we retain the ball and move it around waiting for the opportunity when the opposition will make as mistake and then put in that killer pass. Matt Grimes is the conductor in midfield and after a superb season last year was made captain a role he has taken in his stride. At the back we have Mike Van Der Hoorn and Joe Rodon who are solid along with 2 decent full backs in Conner Roberts and Jake Bidwell. Up top is where we look good this season with Borja Baston providing the fire power and Bersant Celina and Andre Ayew providing the creativity and final ball. I think Celina is a handful for any defence as he is very skilful but is very lightweight in the tackle, and him along with Ayew, Baston and Matt Grimes are real quality.

In terms of weaknesses we still look susceptible at set pieces and neither Rodon or Van der Hoorn at centre back are blessed for pace. In addition if teams get in our faces a bit we struggle for a while to cope as we are looking for passes when sometimes a lump up field would suffice.

What are your thoughts on Forest?

Forest look a decent team they have spent a lot (far more than Swansea) and I think will be there or there about at the end of the season. From an outsider looking in it appears to be a lack of consistency, one week fantastic the next fairly average.

Who do you see as our main threat/best player and why?

I think that Lewis Grabban could be a real thorn in Swansea’s side. He has pace which could trouble our back line if we are not careful and he knows what the net is for!!! Also think Joao Carvalho could prove to be pivotal as he appears a very tricky and skilful player.

What would you give the clubs rivalry with Forest out of 10? 1 – being your 2nd team 5 – being a mutual respect and 10 – your most hated team.

I would go with a 5. We have had some good battles over the years and Forest is always a tough place to go as an away team. They are certainly not hated by the Swans fans.

What is your most memorable encounter with Forest and why?

It has to be the playoff games in 2011 when we went through to the play off final. After being reduced to 10 men at Forest after about 6-7 minutes we all feared but came away with a credible 0 – draw, then the second leg Darren Prately’s goal from the halfway line and a Leon Britton screamer will long live in the memory. It was hard on Forest as they were two very well fought games

What’s your predictions for the game with scorers?

As we haven’t lost at home in the league (and indeed only lost once to Manchester City who robbed us in the FA Cup) this calendar year I’m going to go for a 2- 1 win to the Super Swans with Borja baston and Bersant Celina to get the goals. I think Lewis Grabban will score for Forest.

Thanks to Anthony for his contributions, much appreciated!