Goals from Anis Mehmeti and Ivan Azon have given the Blues a 2-0 half-time lead over Swansea City at Portman Road.

Town made three changes from the team which won 2-0 at Watford on Tuesday with Leif Davis, Mehmeti and Wes Burns returning to the side.

Davis replaced Jacob Greaves at left-back having missed the trip to Vicarage Road with a knock, Burns was wide on the right for Sindre Walle Egeli and Mehmeti was on the left for Jack Clarke with the trio dropping out all on the bench.

Dan Neil made his home debut in the centre of midfield having made four appearances away, while Azon started as the number nine for the fifth Championship game running.

Swansea made five changes from the team which drew 1-1 at home to Preston in midweek with 16-goal Championship top scorer Zan Vipotnik, Jay Fulton, Goncalo Franco, Ronald and Leo Walta dropping to the bench.

New Zealand international midfielder Marko Stamenic returned to the XI following suspension, while another midfielder, Malick Yalcouye, and forwards Gustavo Nunes and Melker Widell also came into the side, along with Liam Cullen, operating as the lone striker.

Former Blues central defender Cameron Burgess, who scored two own goals in the Blues’ 4-1 win in South Wales earlier in the season, started at the back.

Town started strongly, winning a corner after only seven seconds which was cleared from the edge of the six-yard box.

But Blues supporters didn’t have to wait too much longer for the first goal of the afternoon.

In the third minute, Mehmeti played in the overlapping Davis on the left, the full-back’s low cross was stabbed out unconvincingly by Swans skipper Ben Cabango and Mehmeti smashed into the top corner of the net, Lawrence Vigouroux diving forlornly away to his left.

It was the Albanian international’s second goal in two starts for the Blues and first at home since joining the club, as well as his 11th of the season in all competitions for Town and Bristol City.

Swansea had the ball in the net in the 11th minute, Gustavo Nunes turning home a low cross from Widell, who had strayed offside with the linesman’s flag having quickly been raised.

Four minutes later, after a Darnell Furlong long throw had been half-cleared, Neil struck a low shot through a crowd of players from the edge of the box but too close to Vigouroux.

In the 19th minute, Kipre played a superb ball one side of Ethan Galbraith for Davis to chase down the other, but the full-back’s pass inside was intercepted.

On 25, Jisung Eom played a free-kick from not far outside the area on the right inside to Galbraith, but the Northern Irishman, who played for Blues boss Kieran McKenna in the Manchester United academy, blazed deep into the Sir Bobby Robson Stand.

Azon came close to making it 2-0 in the 33rd minute, the Spaniard, who scored his first goal for the club at Swansea in November, nodding back towards goal from beyond the far post but Vigouroux did well to keep it out.

Three minutes later, a Mehmeti shot after a swift Town break was blocked, then on 38 Nunez fed in Furlong on the right but the full-back’s low ball was too close to Vigouroux, who claimed. A minute later, Mehmeti was booked for a foul on Yalcouye.

Widell shot across the face and well wide for the Swans as the half moved towards its final five minutes.

But the first period had been virtually all Town and in the 41st minute, they went 2-0 in front.

Mehmeti played a clever ball to Davis in the corner on the left, the full-back then passing between two defenders into the box for Azon, who stroked his fourth goal of the season - and second against Swansea - across Vigouroux and inside the far post.

Just before the whistle at the end of an additional minute, Yalcouye exchanged passes with Cullen before hitting a shot which Christian Walton, untested up to that stage, was forced to bat away to his left.

The Blues fully deserved their two-goal lead at the break having been very much the better side from the off, winning a corner in the early seconds and then scoring through Mehmeti, excelling in a narrow left-sided role, on three.

Town had chances to increase their lead before Mehmeti and Davis, getting forward in wider areas more often with Mehmeti ahead of him, created the second, which the improving Azon finished clinically.

Swansea had threatened little aside from the offside goal and late shot and from here the Blues should see out the three points.

Town: Walton, Furlong, O’Shea (c), Kipre, Davis, Matusiwa, Neil, Burns, Nunez, Mehmeti, Azon. Subs: Palmer, Walle Egeli, Hirst, Cajuste, Taylor, McAteer, Greaves, Akpom, Clarke.

Swansea City: Vigouroux, Galbraith, Cabango (c), Burgess, Tymon, Stamenic, Yalcouye, Nunes, Widell, Eom, Cullen. Subs: Fisher, Key, Fulton, Vipotnik, Samuels-Smith, Franco, Walta, Ward, Ronald. Referee: Anthony Backhouse (Cumbria).

Photo: Matchday Images