MX23RW : Friday, March 29 08:34:16| >> :120:28323:28323:

Preview: Manchester City vs. Swansea City

Sports Mole previews the Premier League clash between Man City and Swansea, who could go level on points with the champions with victory at the Etihad Stadium.

Out-of-sorts Manchester City will need to be wary of Premier League giant-killers Swansea City when they meet at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Welsh outfit backed up their opening-day win against Manchester United with a come-from-behind success over Arsenal prior to the international break.

Garry Monk's side are fifth in the table and with every notable scalp comes more belief that they could remain in the European places come the end of the season.

Victory over a vulnerable City side who have won just one of their last six games in all competitions would take Swansea level on points with the English champions.

The hosts, who drew 2-2 with Queens Park Rangers a fortnight ago, have already afforded leaders Chelsea an eight-point cushion and cannot afford too many more slip-ups if they are to defend their title.

Confidence in the camp is low following a League Cup exit to a weakened Newcastle United, and several Champions League results which have left them in dire straits ahead of the visit of Bayern Munich on Tuesday.

The much-missed David Silva is still unavailable and has recently been joined in the treatment room by Aleksander Kolarov and Edin Dzeko, who lasted only four minutes against Rangers before pulling up.

Some good news, however, is that influential captain Vincent Kompany has trained this week, despite sitting out Belgium's Euro 2016 qualifier with Wales. The defender should be fit to partner Martin Demichelis.

Manuel Pellegrini may start Stevan Jovetic alongside Sergio Aguero in a bid to ease the burden on the Argentine striker, who has scored 10 of City's last 14 goals and 11 in his previous 10 outings.

Wingers Nathan Dyer and Wayne Routledge are both doubts for the Swans, but Garry Monk will be hoping that one of them is available to start on the opposite wing to improving Ecuadorian Jefferson Montero.

Jonjo Shelvey is back from suspension and should replace Tom Carroll in the middle of the park. Kyle Bartley is in line to continue at centre-back, with Federicio Fernandez still sidelined by a calf strain.

Wilfried Bony, who signed an extended contract at the Liberty Stadium this week, should start up front despite a busy international schedule, as Swansea go in search of a first win at City since 1951.

Man City:

Form in Premier League: WWWLWD
Form in all competitions: DLLWLD

Possible starting lineup: Hart; Zabaleta, Demichelis, Kompany, Clichy; Milner, Fernando, Toure, Nasri; Jovetic, Aguero

Swansea:

Form in Premier League: DDLWDW
Form in all competitions: DLWLDW

Possible starting lineup: Fabianski; Rangel, Bartley, Williams, Taylor; Shelvey, Ki; Montero, Sigurdsson, Routledge; Bony

Sports Mole says: 1-1


ID:189223: cacheID:189223:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:6505: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:
Nacer Chadli of Spurs and Mathieu Flamini of Arsenal battle for the ball during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium on September 01, 2013
Read Next:
Team News: Arsenal make one change
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal28204470244664
2Liverpool28197265263964
3Manchester CityMan City28196363283563
4Aston Villa29175760421856
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs28165759421753
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd28152113939047
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham2912894650-444
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2811985044642
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28125114244-241
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle281241259481140
11Chelsea27116104745239
12Fulham29115134344-138
13Bournemouth2898114152-1135
14Crystal Palace2878133348-1529
15Brentford2975174154-1326
16Everton2887132939-1025
17Luton TownLuton2957174260-1822
18Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2967163551-1621
19Burnley2945202963-3417
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2835202474-5014


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!