MX23RW : Friday, April 26 17:54:43| >> :120:39276:39276:

Preview: Swansea City vs. Sunderland

Sports Mole previews Sunderland's Premier League trip to the Liberty Stadium as they try to make it three wins in the space of a week with victory over Swansea City.

Sunderland will go in search of their third victory in a week when they visit Swansea City in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

The Black Cats had only won five games all season before they knocked off Burnley and Fulham within the space of four days.

Manager Gus Poyet has credited Jermain Defoe as a major factor behind this turnaround in fortunes, claiming that it is "no coincidence" that they are winning now that he is in the side.

The 32-year-old former England striker opened his Sunderland account with the second in their 2-0 victory over the Clarets last weekend - a result which lifted his new club four points clear of the drop zone.

Defoe played a full 90 minutes at Fulham in midweek and, although he was not on the scoresheet, Sunderland recorded back-to-back wins for the first time this term courtesy of a 3-1 FA Cup fourth-round replay success.

Swansea may have been in the market for a forward of Defoe's calibre after losing top scorer Wilfried Bony to Manchester City in January, but Garry Monk chose to stick with what he had and they came good at Southampton last weekend.

Jonjo Shelvey scored a 25-yard screamer to end City's five-match winless streak in the top flight with a 1-0 victory which just about keeps them in touch with the heavyweights battling for European qualification above them.

Monk, who celebrated one year in the Swans hotseat this week, continues to be without many of his best attacking options as Wayne Routledge and Jefferson Montero remain sidelined and Gylfi Sigurdsson serves a suspension.

Marvin Emnes joined the casualty list 16 minutes into proceedings at St Mary's Stadium, but Modou Barrow has shaken off the injury sustained in Ryan Bertrand's late red-card tackle and could start at the Liberty Stadium.

In the absence of more experienced names, Jay Fulton and Tom Carroll impressed in midfield last time out and could keep their places, although South Korea's Ki Sung-yueng is back from the Asia Cup and in contention.

There is likely to be a home debut for right-back Kyle Naughton, whose defensive colleagues would be wise to seek advice from in regards to dealing with his former Tottenham Hotspur teammate Defoe, who will be partnered by Steven Fletcher due to Connor Wickham's calf strain.

Lee Cattermole is definitely out with the knee injury that has sidelined him since the New Year, while Adam Johnson, Jack Rodwell, Emanuele Giaccherini, Billy Jones and Will Buckley are all rated as "50-50" for Sunderland's trip to Wales.

This new winning habit is something that Poyet will be desperate to maintain and so changes should be at a premium. Costel Pantilimon will return in goal, while Ricky Alvarez, a scorer in midweek, is on standby for Johnson.

The Black Cats have beaten Swansea only once in the Premier League - a 2-0 victory four years ago.

Swansea:

Form in Premier League: WLDDLW
Form in all competitions: DWDLLW

Possible starting lineup: Fabianski; Naughton, Fernandez, Williams, Taylor; Carroll, Fulton; Barrow, Shelvey, Dyer; Gomis

Sunderland:

Form in Premier League: LDLLLW
Form in all competitions: WLLDWW

Possible starting lineup: Pantilimon; Reveillere, O'Shea, Vergini, Van Aanholt; Johnson, Bridcutt, Larsson, Gomez; Fletcher, Defoe

Sports Mole says: 0-0


ID:203701: cacheID:203701:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:7846:No Data Analysis info

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Jose Mourinho manager of Chelsea looks on during the Capital One Cup Fourth Round match between Shrewsbury Town and Chelsea at Greenhous Meadow on October 28, 2014
Read Next:
Preview: Swansea vs. Chelsea
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leicester CityLeicester443041086394794
2Leeds UnitedLeeds44279880374390
3Ipswich TownIpswich432611685533289
4Southampton442591085612484
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom4420121267442372
6Norwich CityNorwich442191477611672
7Hull City441912136556969
8Coventry CityCoventry4317121468551363
9Middlesbrough44189176460463
10Preston North EndPreston44189175661-563
11Cardiff CityCardiff44195205061-1162
12Bristol City441611175147459
13Sunderland44168205251156
14Swansea CitySwansea441511185762-556
15Watford441217155958153
16Millwall441411194355-1253
17Stoke CityStoke441311204460-1650
18Queens Park RangersQPR441311204157-1650
19Blackburn RoversBlackburn441310215874-1649
20Plymouth ArgylePlymouth441212205869-1148
21Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds44138233968-2947
22Birmingham CityBirmingham441210224864-1646
23Huddersfield TownHuddersfield44917184774-2744
RRotherham UnitedRotherham44412283285-5324


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!