The simple reason Kyle Walker-Peters must start over Joel Veltman in West Ham clash vs Swansea

West Ham United could be forgiven for sticking to a long-held adage in football against Swansea City this weekend.

Indeed, they say you should never change a winning team (injuries and suspensions withstanding, of course).

Such a notion, one could argue, should especially be heeded when you are coming off a 6-0 rout.

The Hammers ran riot against Lincoln City at Cincil Bank in midweek, albeit the hosts had two players sent off.

So, you could logically come to the reasonable conclusion that, providing everyone is fit, Nuno Espirito Santo should stick with the same starting XI.

But there is a simple reason why he might want to ignore long-held beliefs and make one change, and it's a pretty obvious reason why.

Why West Ham should start Kyle Walker-Peters vs Swansea

Saturday's clash at the Swansea.com Stadium is shaping up to be a big one.

The Swans have raced to the top of the Championship under Vitor Matos, sitting two spot and four points above Nuno's men in third.

One of the keys to Swansea's success is the speed of their play in the transitions, with Moussa Yeo and Joseph Opoku key to that on the flanks.

Yeo has clocked a top speed of 34.9 km/h in the Championship this season, and averages 18.1 sprints.

Opoku clocks in slightly slower at 32.2 km/h and racks up 14.8 sprints per 90 minutes for Swansea.

Joel Veltman is an experienced and canny operator, but he is 34 and turns 35 in a couple of months.

It is a lot to expect a player of his age to play again so soon after featuring in midweek - even if he was brought off after 66 minutes for Kyle Walker-Peters.

Moreover, while Walker-Peters has his detractors defensively, one thing he does possess is impressive speed.

Going up against a side with swiftness in transitions that Swansea possess, means that Walker-Peters would be a good choice to come into starting XI.

Match speed with speed, and Walker-Peters also offers a really good threat going forward, something that could be crucial in a game likely do be decided by fine margins.

What is West Ham's record against Swansea like?

The two sides have not faced off against one another since the 2017-18 season, when Swansea dropped out of the Premier League.

Swansea won the last league encounter between the teams 4-1 in March 2018, and are now attempting to win two in a row in the league against the Hammers for the first time since September 1957 (3 in a row).

Indeed, West Ham have won just one of their last six league visits to Swansea (D3 L2), which came in a 4-1 Premier League win on Boxing Day 2016.

But, with such a big period of time having passed since they last faced off, it is difficult to glean anything too meaningful.