The Match
Liverpool are a bit up and down really aren't they? Similar to Man City, they've dominated at home but on their travels they've stuttered, and recent points against West Brom and Fulham were both hard-fought and fortuitous. At home, however (and where we have to play them), they're a different beast and have been absolutely on fire of late. Since losing to Southampton in September they've won nine and drawn one of their subsequent ten home games - imperious.
On top of that, they've got Daniel Sturridge (who if he scores will equal Van Nistelrooy's record of scoring in eight straight PL games), as well as that pesky Uruguayan who decided he wanted to grow up and be a world class footballer. Stopping the supply to those two will be key and if they have a quiet game you've then got a chance to sneak something on the break. It is, however, hard to see them going a home game without either of those two scoring...
On top of that, they've got Daniel Sturridge (who if he scores will equal Van Nistelrooy's record of scoring in eight straight PL games), as well as that pesky Uruguayan who decided he wanted to grow up and be a world class footballer. Stopping the supply to those two will be key and if they have a quiet game you've then got a chance to sneak something on the break. It is, however, hard to see them going a home game without either of those two scoring...
Swansea have a lot more reason to be confident than they did a couple of weeks ago. Four great showings under Garry Monk mean the squad are liable to be bouncing and keen to test themselves against Brendan Rodgers' much vaunted Liverpool side. The latest showing against Napoli will have been a massive confidence boost in particular, as they are a top, top team and the Swans thoroughly dominated them. If we can play like that against Napoli, we can play like that against any Premiership side, and that's exactly the message Garry Monk will be ramming home to his players in the buildup to this match.
Prior Form (Most recent at top)
Team News
Provided by resident fitness guru @BenDinnery - make sure to follow him on Twitter for the latest injury news and views
Liverpool are in majestic form at home this season winning 9 of their last 10 games and scoring 36 goals in the process despite carrying a number of injury concerns. Daniel Agger (calf) and another former Jack Joe Allen (hamstring) have only just recently returned to the first team while midfielder Jordan Henderson is likely to play in a protective cast following wrist surgery. Sunday will also see the return of England full-back Glen Johnson after almost a month out with an ankle injury but this weekend will come too soon for Lucas Leiva and Mamadou Sakho. Spanish full-back Jose Enrique is currently in the US seeking specialist advice regarding an on-going knee injury.
Swansea travel to Anfield this weekend to take on Liverpool in their more familiar Sunday afternoon slot having returned to Europa League action on Thursday night. Despite a loss to Everton last weekend in the FA Cup Garry Monk has impressed during his short-tenure and his side will hold no fear against a team who have flourished under former Jacks manager Brendan Rodgers this season. Jonjo Shelvey (hamstring) will be pushing for a starting berth against his previous employers after coming through a 20 minute cameo unscathed last night but midfielder Nathan Dyer will be assessed after picking up a problem late in the same game. Alejandro Pozuelo is once again fit and available following a hip problem but a late decision will be made regarding the fitness of Michu. The Spanish international had a pain-killing injection on Wednesday and was ordered to rest for two days before a return to training.
Completely guessed lineups
Statistics & Trivia
- Luis Suarez has had 55 shots on target in the league this season - 20 more than any other player.
- Liverpool are unbeaten in seven Premier League matches (W5, D2), and are one of only two clubs (Chelsea) unbeaten so far in 2014.
- Brendan Rodgers's men have taken 28 points from the last 30 available at Anfield (W9, D1) since they were beaten by Southampton in September.
- The Reds have scored 43 first-half goals in the league this season, 13 more than top scorers Manchester City have managed.
- Daniel Sturridge has scored in his last seven successive Premier League matches, and eight in all competitions. Ruud van Nistolrooy (twice) is the only player to have scored in eight straight Premier League matches.
- The Swans are winless in their last seven away matches (D3, L4) since a 2-1 win at Fulham.
- Swansea have scored just seven first-half league goals this season; only Cardiff (five) have fewer. They are without a first-half goal in their last six league games.
- Swansea's average ball possession of 59.8% is the highest in the top flight, yet just 25% of their passes have been in the attacking third of the pitch which is the lowest in the league.
- Wilfried Bony has scored eight Premier League goals but none have come in away matches.
Straight from the horse's mouth
Angel Rangel feels recent good performances mean the squad will be in confident mood against Liverpool:
“It’s another big one for us. That’s the beauty of football – we are playing in different competitions against big clubs all the time. Liverpool are in the top four, and it’s against Brendan too which is always special, and they are in top form, but we know we can win up there – we did that in the Capital One Cup last season.
“They are a different team [to Napoli]. They play with a similar tempo to us, have great players and Brendan knows our style of play – just like we know his. It will be an open game. We have to make sure we keep Sturridge and Suarez quiet, but as long as we are solid as a team and create chances like we did on Thursday night then I’m sure we can get a good result.
“That performance has given us a lot of confidence. Hopefully we can use that to get a result on Sunday.”
http://www.swanseacity.net/news/article/ar-liverpool-1374052.aspx?#0AmSjLEZb52IgIJp.99
Jan Molby (ex-Liverpool midfielder & Swans boss) feels we'll be a different side under Monk, and understands the board's decision to remove Danish compatriot Laudrup
"We all know how Swansea play but they are a bit different under caretaker boss Garry Monk. They will look to go long at times, especially in the opening 20 minutes at Everton on Sunday.They will be wary about what Liverpool did to Arsenal at Anfield when they tried to play it out.
“I know Michael as well as anyone in England and he has a certain way of dealing with things. He’s not a ranter and raver. His style was more than good enough for Swansea last season but they’ve decided to go in another direction.
“They were abject in his last game in charge at West Ham and the board obviously decided he could no longer motivate the players.”
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/former-swansea-city-boss-jan-6732825?
Liverpool (and ex-Swansea) boss Brendan Rodgers feels Monk's impact on the Swans is already visible:
"Garry's gone in there and been outstanding. I look at the four games and he's done very well. The Cardiff game is a massive game and he's come through that with flying colours. He changed the team a bit at Everton and they lost that one, and I thought they were the better team last night against Napoli.
"He's gone in and galvanised the group. He was a wonderful leader for me, very much in tune with what we wanted to do, and when I look at Swansea, I can see them getting back to that organisation, pressing the ball well, and having good positioning on the field.
"It will be a tough game for us."
http://sport.bt.com/sportfootball/football/rodgers-happy-for-protege-monk-S11363878395953?
Analysis
How to stop Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge? That's the question Garry Monk will have been pondering from the moment the final whistle blew against Napoli, and it's fairly obviously the key to stopping Liverpool. Ok, they've got some other exceptional players - especially Phillipe Coutinho, but is Raheem Stirling any better than Nathan Dyer or Wayne Routledge? I think in defence too our back four is just as good as theirs, but you can't argue with the overall disparity in quality. Liverpool are fighting it out at the top of the table for a reason and we'll have to play exceptionally to keep them away from Michel Vorm's goal.
Despite the majority (if not all) of what you'd call Swansea's "first XI" playing against Napoli you'd fancy Monk to name a fairly unchanged side for this matchup, given that his extreme rotation last weekend against Everton meant most of the players who featured last night had enjoyed eight days without a game by the time Napoli came around. How that leaves us for our trip to Italy I can't say, so it's possible there will be some rotation, but I still fancy him to retain Leon & Canas at the heart of the midfield, and that's a good way to start if you ask me.
Key to the changes Monk has made so far has been the reinstatement of another defensive midfielder alongside Leon Britton. With a steady base to build off he's also got the wingers hugging the touchline again, and it again worked to great effect against Napoli. We've got fast players, so why not let them run really fast into space? If we can get our wide men running at Liverpool's defence we can cause them problems.
Wilfried Bony had one of those games where it just didn't happen for him against Napoli, but on most other nights if you have that many efforts one of them will go in. He's clearly a much more confident player than he was a few months ago and he's enjoying his football, but with Monk's changes taking a while to perfect themselves it'll take a little while before the new shape and system clicks into place. When it does, though...
Pablo in particular seems to be loving life. Playing behind Bony as the link between midfield and attack he's looking a new man, threading neat pass after neat pass into space with his cultured right foot. He was withdrawn early on Thursday so it remains to be seen if he's available for the trip to Anfield but either way he's staking a claim to make that position his own in Garry Monk's Swansea team.
If we can play with the intensity we've shown over the last few weeks we can keep the ball away from Liverpool. Gerrard is a great player but he can't cover ground like he used to, Jordan Henderson "doesn't run right" (according to Alex Ferguson) so to me that says we should be worrying about the little man Coutinho. I think he got injured at out place early in the season which he won't have forgotten, but we'll have to keep him quiet if we're to stop Liverpool breaking. With players like Suarez and Sturridge looking to latch onto anything played forward it only takes one pass and we could be 1-0 down.
Am I confident? Yes. Am I always confident? Mostly. It is hard to see us winning this though. Can I predict a draw? That seems a bit boring so while it's probably more realistic I'm going to go for a Swansea win by the odd goal, with Bony scoring late on. Come on you Swans!