Leeds United opponents Swansea City left to rue £27m decision as wastefulness revealed ahead of Whites' visit

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Ironically enough, what Leeds United's next opponents Swansea City could do with most is a Joel Piroe or Dan James of their own.

The Leeds pair are well-acquainted with South Wales having each spent a number of years at the Swansea.com Stadium. Last season, though, they linked up for the first time at Elland Road and delivered 26 Championship goals between them.

This year, the goal-getting has been just as good, if not better, for Piroe whose six league strikes - four of which have come from the bench - is just shy of the halfway mark to last term's tally of 13. James, on the other hand, has sat out several weeks with hamstring problems, therefore has been limited to just two goals in Leeds colours, still 11 shy of last season's haul but showing similar glimpses.

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Both left Swansea in big-money moves, for a combined total of around £27 million, and could come back to haunt their former employer on Sunday afternoon.

It is hardly a revelation to suggest Swansea fans would give an arm and a leg to have just one back at their disposal, not least because of their own woes in front of goal.

This season, the Swans have scored just 10 non-penalty goals in 15 Championship games - the lowest in the division. It's not as though the South Walians have been in short supply of goalscoring chances, or the ball, either, as Swansea have averaged around 60 per cent possession in each of their league games this season, second only to Leeds with 62 per cent.

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The issue appears to lie in attack as, according to Opta, Swansea's Expected Goals (xG) underperformance is the largest in the Championship, and by quite a margin. Luke Williams' side have generated chances worth a cumulative 18.49 non-penalty xG but scored only 10. The next largest underperformance this season is Middlesbrough with a deficit of just over four goals, while Swansea are eight-and-a-half goals worse off than the quality of their chances would suggest.

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This can be attributed to a number of factors but primarily, Swansea's underperformance over a relatively small sample period of 15 games will most likely be down to below average finishing. Criticisms of the team this season have been they see a lot of the ball, but do little else with it. Such critiques are valid considering Swansea are the Championship side boasting the highest proportion of backwards passes in the league with almost one-in-five going back towards their own goal.

Zan Vipotnik and Liam Cullen are joint on two apiece as the club's top goalscorer, while Brazilian winger Ronald is the only player with more than a single assist to his name.

Piroe, on the other hand, with six goals and two assists, is averaging a direct contribution every 84 minutes.

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The Swans will likely be forced to adopt, or adapt in-game to, a different type of fixture than they're used to when Leeds visit this weekend. United's dominance of possession should mean Swansea see less of the ball than usual and considering their profligacy when they see plenty of it, doesn't bode well for Williams' men.

Their conversion rate of 6.75 per cent is among the Championship's lowest, second only to Queens Park Rangers who Leeds saw off in routine fashion at Elland Road before the November international break. Similar to Leeds, Swansea haven't exactly been prolific at set-pieces this season, either, scoring twice, meaning 'the Millwall approach' probably doesn't apply.

Therefore, if Swansea are to find a way to beat Leeds on Sunday afternoon, they will have to show something they are yet to this season.

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