Swansea City: QPR repeat v Middlesbrough would spark opening day dreamland - View | OneFootball

Swansea City will be looking to emulate their opening day victory from 12 years ago

Swansea City begin their 2024/25 Championship season with a trip to the Riverside Stadium to face Middlesbrough on Saturday, and they'll be looking for their first opening day win since 2020.

The last three opening days have seen Swansea record one loss and two draws, and whilst the trip to Middlesbrough is a daunting one, a good result there could set the tone for Luke Williams' side to enjoy a successful season.

Swansea haven't had too much luck on opening days in recent years, but Williams' side should look back to 12 years ago when they traveled to QPR on the opening day of the 2012/13 season for inspiration.

QPR repeat would have Swansea City supporters in opening day dreamland

The summer of 2012 was one of change at Swansea City, and Michael Laudrup replaced Brendan Rodgers in SA1, and the likes of Michu, Pablo Hernandez, Chico Flores and Jonathan De Guzman were all brought to the club.

This meant that Swansea City supporters didn't know what to expect from their side ahead of the club's second season in the Premier League, and an away trip to QPR looked set to be the perfect test to begin their campaign.

Swansea had signed a number of players with no experience of English football, just like they have this year, and there was scepticism over how they'd adapt to the Premier League.

However, Swansea ran riot at Loftus Road, beating QPR 5-0, which set the tone for a very successful campaign which saw them win the League Cup and finish 9th in the Premier League.

Michu scored twice on what was his debut, with Nathan Dyer also adding a brace and Scott Sinclair putting the icing on the cake to make it five in what was his final game for the club before leaving for Manchester City.

It was an incredible way to start a season which people couldn't predict would go, and as they find themselves in a similar situation 12 years on, a repeat of that performance on Saturday would go down very well indeed.

Whenever Swansea fans think of a memorable opening day, their trip to West London in the sun 12 years ago is always one that jumps out, and Williams' side will be looking to create another memorable one in Middlesbrough.

Winning on the opening day is key for momentum and confidence

Winning on the opening day will help set the tone for the season ahead and, as they found out last season, failing to win the first game of the season means you can fall into a rut which is hard to get out of.

Swansea didn't win a league game until the 23rd September last season, and they can't afford to start that slowly again if they want to enjoy a successful 2024/25 campaign.

Had Swansea beat Birmingham City on the opening day last season, things could have been all so different for Michael Duff, but until you win that first league game there's always going to be pressure and uncertainty.

Given the geographical distance and Middlesbrough's quality, Swansea couldn't have asked for a much harder game to start the season, and any point picked up at the Riverside Stadium will be seen as a good one.

However, just like in 2012, you never know what will happen until a ball is kicked and, hopefully, Swansea will use their trip to Loftus Road 12 years ago as inspiration to get a memorable opening day result at the Riverside Stadium.