Swansea City are set to host Liverpool in a bid to halt their spell of bad form as well as end a remarkable run for the Reds in the Premier League. Just one point above the relegation zone in 17th, manager Francesco Guidolin will be hoping his Swansea side can produce a result to kick-start their season against the Merseyside outfit who currently sit fourth in the table.
Current Form
Swansea are in the midst of a slump, achieving only one win in their opening six matches—their victory coming away at Burnley on the opening day of the season. Having lost four out of their previous five fixtures, the Swans are currently weathering a difficult run of games, with Liverpool visiting before they make the trip to North London to face Arsenal.
Their encouraging first half-performance during their defeat in the last round of fixtures, however—a 3-1 home defeat to title-favourites Manchester City—gave them a reason to be optimistic with the home side going toe-to-toe against the two-time Premier League champions.
Liverpool, in contrast, have bounced back in fine fashion since their 2-0 away defeat at Burnley, winning three out of their last four since then and winning four out of their opening six games, drawing only once. Coincidentally, three of their most impressive performances have come against last season’s top three, with victories away at Arsenal on the opening day and home to Leicester City respectively as well as a draw away to Tottenham.
Their previous outing against a team from outside of the league’s top ten from last season yielded five goals for the Merseyside club against Hull City, and they will be looking to recreate that on foreign soil.
Team News
Swansea City could again be without defender Federico Fernandez, who sat out last week’s defeat to Manchester City with a groin problem. Nathan Dyer is also set to miss out again due to an ankle injury.
Liverpool could welcome back Dejan Lovren to the defensive line, having been replaced by Ragnar Klavan against Hull as the result of a virus. The inclusion of Divock Origi also might be too soon, with the young Belgian currently sidelined with a foot injury.
Statistics
Swansea
The Swans have enjoyed little success in this fixture when playing at home, with them having won just two out of the ten meetings between these two sides since they gained promotion in 2011.
In the previous fixture, the Welsh outfit ran out 3-1 winners over Liverpool, with goals from now-West Ham forward André Ayew and Jack Cork. Current Crystal Palace striker Christian Benteke scored the only goal for the Reds.
Swansea currently have their lowest ever points total after the opening six matches with four.
Liverpool
In contrast, the Reds have won five of their last ten league outings against Swansea, with the last of these coming in a 1-0 win at Anfield, courtesy of a James Milner penalty.
Liverpool have been unable to keep a clean sheet so far this season, having conceded nine goals in their first six matches. In terms of scoring, however, there has been no problem, with 16 goals in the league so far, having only managed four at the same stage last season.
Final Thoughts
With Liverpool flying high after a good run of recent results, it could be easy to say that they should run out as winners. But Swansea City are just the kind of team against which the Merseysiders tend to come unstuck. A win for Klopp’s men would see their progress continue as they mount their bid for a place in the Premier League’s top four.
Swansea City, however, will be desperate for a good result, with the pressure increasing on manager Francesco Guidolin after suffering a second successive home loss this season. A win would no doubt be a huge boost for the Italian, who himself admitted that his job could well be in jeopardy.
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