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Wales Online
Wales Online
Sport
David Alexander Hughes & Ian Mitchelmore

The stark Championship pressing stats and where Swansea City rank compared to Leeds United, Norwich and Aston Villa

Much has changed at the Liberty Stadium following Swansea City's relegation from the Premier League last year.

From the manager to the playing staff, there's been a completely different outlook at SA1 in the 2018/19 campaign.

And it's not just personnel that has changed.

Graham Potter make no secret of his desire to restore the club's identity when he made the move from Sweden to South Wales just under a year ago.

Despite their inconsistent form at times, fans have - by and large - appreciated the style Potter is implementing with the Swans, particularly so after a difficult final few seasons in the top flight.

And while there's been a real shift in the playing style under Potter, there's one stat from this season that remains incredibly similar to the Swans' final campaign in the Premier League. 

Passes Per Defensive Action (PPDA) have been made available for the 2017/18 season and the current campaign.

So far this term, Swansea - on average - allow 12.42 passes per defensive action, which is the most in the Championship. One explanation for this is that Swansea have tended to enjoy more possession than their opponents under Potter, in similar fashion to how they played under the likes of Roberto Martinez and Brendan Rodgers.

And when they do relinquish the ball, there's been a tendency to win possession in their own half.

Swansea's pressing game in the first half of the 3-1 win over Stoke earlier this month was an example of how this can be contradicted, but in general, they're willing to sit off their opponents more than other sides when not on the ball.

At the other end of the scale, Leeds United average 6.38, the lowest in the league by some distance, which is understandable given the intensity of their game under Marcelo Bielsa.

And while Swansea's stats in this department have changed by a significant amount from last season, little has changed in terms of their league ranking.

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Swansea allowed on average 15.37 passes per defensive action last season, with only Brighton (16.27) having a total higher than that of the Swans.

Man City had the lowest with 7.13, and they were closely followed by Tottenham (8.23), Arsenal (9) and Liverpool (9.46).

While some teams - Chelsea for example - undoubtedly bucked the trend, the tables generally show how sides in the lower echelons of the Premier League last term chose to sit deeper and absorb pressure against the big guns rather than gambling on a high press that could see them picked off if it wasn't executed to perfection.

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