http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 will travel to the Liberty Stadium to face Swansea City this weekend. The London club need a victory after the controversial 2-3 defeat against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge last weekend.
The Blues did however bounce back from the defeat by exacting revenge in the Capital One Cup. Even though it took more than half of the Chelsea first team (and £75 million worth of substitutes) to beat United’s second string team, Chelsea managed to emerge
as victors in a thrilling contest that ended 5-4.
Swansea are also on a decent run. The Swans lost their last Premier League game against reigning champions Manchester City at The Etihad Stadium, but followed it up with an impressive 1-3 victory over http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809 at Anfield in the Capital One Cup.
Both teams are good going forward, but prone to the occasional defensive lapse. The game at Liberty Stadium is set to be a cracking encounter, with goals and end-to-end football guaranteed.
Swansea City
Expected starting line-up:
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Danny-c10193 Graham.
Swansea are expected to make one two changes to the side that travelled to the Eastlands last week to face current English champions Manchester City.
Ki Sung-Yueng will make way for Danny Graham, who had started from the bench last week. Michu had been deployed on the lone striker role, but the tactic backfired on the Swans. Despite managing possession and taking the game to the hosts, Swansea struggled
to create clear cut chances.
The back four remains the same, with Davies, Rangel, Williams and Chico comprising of the back four. Guzman stars as holding midfielder and Michu and Britton will help him out in middle.
Pablo and Routledge will start on the wings to support lone striker Danny Graham, and Michu will move back to his preferred attacking midfield spot, where he has been phenomenal so far this season.
Swansea have a good squad going forward, but will need to work hard if they want to keep Chelsea at bay.
Chelsea
Expected starting line-up:
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ramires-c30523.
Chelsea have arguably the strongest midfield in the league, but are defensively frail when it comes to playing against fast paced attacking teams.
I expect no changes from the team that played against Chelsea last weekend except the absence of Torres and Ivanovic, who both received red cards at Stamford Bridge.
Azpilicueta starts instead of Ivanovic while Sturridge starts up front in place of Torres. Cahill and Luiz start in the centre half positions while http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/John-Terry-c18895 still serves his suspension.
The midfield remains the same with Mikel in the holding role and Mata and Ramires up front. Hazard and Oscar will be deployed on the wings with Sturridge in the lone striker role.
Final Score
Chelsea have a much better team on paper, and with only one loss to their name in the league so far, they are favourites for the game. With Mata in top form, Chelsea will dominate midfield.
However, Swansea are also strong going forward, and have a certain Spaniard of their own who can turns things up.
The Liberty Stadium is a difficult place to get results, so I expect Chelsea to struggle, but still manage a victory. I predict 1-2 to the visitors, with Michu, Mata and Hazard on the score sheet.
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