Time is fast running out in the battle to stay in the Premier League and Swansea City need to start picking up points, beginning with three at home to Stoke City this weekend.
With five matches left to play in the league this season, Swansea find themselves in the relegation zone, two points adrift of 17th place Hull City. With the Tigers playing at the KCOM Stadium this weekend, where they have been winning games, it is crucial Swansea get maximum points from this match.
Stoke have little to play for in terms of European qualification or relegation but with plenty of prize money at stake, Mark Hughes will not want to lose touch with West Bromwich Albion, who are currently 8th in the table. A win in this game could see stoke climb from 11th to 9th in the Premier League this weekend.
When Paul Clement arrived at the Liberty Stadium hopes were high given his background and the back-to-back wins in January over Liverpool and Southampton breathed new life into Swansea’s season.
Between the 21st of January and the 4th of March Swansea won four of their six Premier League games. The two defeats came at Manchester City and Chelsea, so these were hardly unexpected but with the victories over Leicester and Burnley, in addition to the wins over Liverpool and Southampton, things were looking up in South Wales.
However, a 2-1 loss at Hull towards the end of March has seen Swansea spiral into a run of poor form. Trends show Swansea have failed to win any of their previous six Premier League games, losing five and drawing one. It’s been a terrible run and Clement needs to get the team back to winning ways quickly, if they are to avoid the drop.
Stoke reversed a run of four straight league defeats last weekend by defeating Hull 3-1 at the Bet365 Stadium. The result came as a relief to Hughes, as Stoke’s good season was in danger of becoming an average one.
Trends show Stoke have been struggling when it comes to playing away from home recently. The Potters have won only one of their previous nine away matches in the Premier League. Compare this with their home form, which has seen Stoke defeated in just three of their last fifteen league games and you begin to understand where the problems lie this season.
Having scored 3 goals away to Sunderland in January, Stoke have failed to find the back of the net in any of their previous five away Premier League games. This will be music to the ears of the Swansea defence, who conceded 3 late goals in their previous home match against Tottenham Hotspur.
Clement will have to make do without the injured Jack Cork, Wayne Routledge, Leon Britton, Nathan Dyer and Angel Rangel for this game. Tom Carroll and Jordan Ayew may come back into the starting XI. Stoke are without Joe Allen, Ibrahim Afellay and Stephen Ireland but will probably stick with the 3-4-2-1 formation which got the win last week.
With so much to play for, Swansea will have the drive to win this game. Stoke have been poor away from home and Swansea cannot afford to miss this opportunity to pick up 3 points and earn a valuable clean sheet in the process. However, the longer the match stays at 0-0 the more nervous the home fans and players will become and Stoke will aim to the thrive on that. It’s going to be a very exciting afternoon at the Liberty Stadium, in a game Swansea simply must win.