Match Preview

Match Preview: Swansea City vs Southampton

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So this is it, 2 home games left, 2 home games to save our Premier League status. No win in 8, 2 goals scored in those games, can Carlos Carvalhal lift the players for this must-win game at the Liberty Stadium on Tuesday night?

We bring you the team news, manager quotes and stats ahead of one of our biggest games in years. After another failed and missed opportunity to relieve the pressure at Bournemouth on Saturday, the Swans host Southampton in the re-arranged kick-off on Tuesday night.

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Swansea City Team News

Carlos Carvalhal has no fresh injury concerns following Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth, but he’s expected to make some changes to freshen things up.

He left the likes of Clucas, King, Narsingh and Abraham on the bench at the Vitality Stadium, while Kyle Naughton could return after missing Saturday due to illness.

The fans are calling for a switch to a back four, but that looks unlikely.

Southampton Team News

Defender Maya Yoshida is suspended after his red card at Everton on Saturday. Steven Davis is likely to be out again with an Achilles injury, and Lemina is a doubt with a hamstring problem.

What The Managers Are Saying

Swansea boss, Carlos Carvalhal

“After losing a game like we did at Bournemouth, everyone is sad of course,”

“But tomorrow is another day and we will react. On Tuesday we must be at the top of our game.

“This is the main point and the players know about that. They know they must react very fast.”

“Since we arrived, in nearly all the games we play at home, we have performed really well,”

“Possibly the cup game against Tottenham was the game that was hard for us. But in all the others, we divided the game and were better than our opponents.”

Southampton Manager, Mark Hughes

“We have a quick turnaround and we can go again.

“We were great last weekend, we were great again today and we will be great again on Tuesday I am sure.”

“It was difficult circumstances, What did I have eight games?

“I think I came in and made an impact with a group which is really strong at the moment.

Southampton’s Last Match Line-Up

Everton 11 Southampton

 

League Positions and Recent Form

R Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts Form
17 Southampton 36 6 15 15 36 55 -19 33 LLLDWD
18 Swansea 36 8 9 19 27 53 -26 33 LDDLLL

 

Swansea Line-Up Prediction

I don’t expect Carvalhal to switch to a back four like many fans are calling out for, but surely he’ll want to change things in midfield after poor performances from central midfield duo Carroll and Ki at Bournemouth.

Naughton will probably return after illness, and King and Clucas could return.

Fabianski
Naughton, van der Hoorn, Fernandez, Mawson, Olsson
A. Ayew, King, Ki, Clucas
J. Ayew.

 

Pre-Match Stats

Premier League record vs Southampton (Home and Away)

  • Swansea have a rather poor record at home against Southampton in the Premier League, winning only 1 in 5, losing 3 – all by a 1-0 scoreline.
  • Only Stoke have a longer winless run in the League than the Swans – 13 compared to Swansea’s 11.
  • The Swans are in the bottom three for the first time since March 3rd.
  • Southampton have won 1 in 10.
  • Only West Brom (26) have dropped more points from winning positions than Southampton (21). 8 of those 21 have been under current manager Mark Hughes.

Last Outing

Swansea City 2-1 Southampton

One of Paul Clement’s big home wins that helped us stay in the Premier League last season. Can we do it again against Southampton at home on Tuesday night? Alfie Mawson opened the scoring after 38 minutes and Sigurdsson netted a fine winner with 20 minutes to play after Shane Long’s 57th-minute equaliser. 6 of the players who started that day could start this one.

Key stats: 43% possession, Shots: 9 (5 on target), 5 corners.

Match Officials

Referee: Michael Oliver
Assistants: Simon Bennett, Stuart Burt
Fourth official: Andre Marriner

Prediction

Swansea City 2-1 Southampton

My heart has to overrule my head here. It isn’t a result I’d bet money on, nor is it one that I have full belief we’ll get, but we’ve just got to be hopeful and optimistic going into it. I just hope we’re not cautious as we have been and go out to attack at home. It wasn’t long ago that we had won 4 in a row at the Liberty and we need to show everyone the same quality that helped revive our season.

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