Bothroyd's taunt to rival Swansea

Coca Cola Championship - Swansea City v Cardiff City
Venue: Liberty Stadium Date: Saturday, 7 November Kick-off: 1245 GMT Coverage: Full commentary on BBC Radio Wales and Radio Cymru, live text commentary online and score updates on BBC Radio 5 live. Extended highlights on The Football League Show on BBC ONE Wales at 0005 GMT on Sunday. Live on Sky Sports 1

Jay Bothroyd has stoked the fire ahead of Saturday's south Wales Championship derby by insisting Swansea City are weaker than last season.

The Cardiff City striker claims since former boss Roberto Martinez left to take charge at Wigan, the Swans are "not the same side they were."

Swansea are on a nine-match unbeaten run and boast nine clean sheets this term but Bothroyd is not convinced.

"Since the changes, they're not the same side that they were," he said.

The Swans enjoyed the upper hand on their Welsh neighbours last season as while both league games finished 2-2, Swansea beat their arch-rivals 1-0 in the Carling Cup clash at the Liberty Stadium.

Martinez's team were one of the surprise packages of the Championship last season as in their first year back in English football's second tier, Swansea impressed and earned plaudits for their attractive football.

But Martinez was lured away to the top-flight in the summer when he replaced Steve Bruce at Wigan Athletic.

The Spaniard then took top-scorer Jason Scotland and star playmaker Jordi Gomez, who scored 38 goals between them last term, with him to the DW Stadium - and new Swans boss Paulo Sousa had the job to revive the club.

But the former Portugal, Inter Milan and Juventus midfielder has made Swansea tough to beat and they boast the second meanest defence in the Championship.

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" I'm in the percentage of support who want Cardiff to beat Swansea more than any other team but generally I think for Swansea the importance is greater "

Swansea's nine-match unbeaten run is the best in the division while Cardiff are the Championship's form side and top goal-scorers.

So Bothroyd is confident and said: "They've lost Jason Scotland and Jordi Gomez and lost the manager, which is a massive factor and he is doing well at Wigan.

"I don't think they are the same side. Where are they in the league? And where are we in the league?"

Swansea's fine run has taken the Welsh club from hovering above the drop-zone to being among the play-off contenders as while Sousa's side are 11th in the division, they are just two points outside the top six.

High-flying Cardiff are third - three points behind leaders Newcastle United - and Bothroyd believes his Bluebirds team-mates can beat their old rivals even without suspended top-scorer Michael Chopra.

Bothroyd is set to partner last season's 23-goal top-scorer Ross McCormack, who is fully fit after recovering from hamstring trouble, up front.

The Scottish striker is set to replace Chopra, who is banned after receiving his fifth booking of the season in the 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest on Sunday.

"It will be a totally different game from last year," said Bothroyd, who scored his fifth goal of the season in the Forest draw.

"We're looking to go there, beat them and keep our run going.

"It is one game that you haven't got to hype yourself up for - it is self explanatory and a big game for the fans and the club.

"And it is a game players enjoy playing in."

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