The Match
Sunderland have wowed everyone of late. A superb run of form has seen them dramatically pull clear of the relegation zone, and with safety now, remarkably, secured before the final day of the season it could be a real party atmosphere at the Stadium of Light this weekend. Sunderland will be without Ki (who, depending on what you believe, is either injured or faking it to protect himself for the World Cup) as he'll be ineligible to play, but ex-Swan loanee Fabio Borini is a player who is fast winning admirers - both the North East and elsewhere. He'll be guaranteed a good reception, and with the rise of Connor "Wickhaldinho" Wickham threatening to continue apace there's plenty to worry about in terms of Sunderland's attack.
Swansea should be buoyed by the announcement of Garry Monk, though whether that'll be enough to arrest the mini-slump in form we've suffered in the last few weeks remains to be seen. There was a distinct end of season feel to our performance against Southampton, so I'm hoping for a bit more commitment this time out - even if there is nothing to play for. Monk and Poyet may both shuffle their pack with this fixture offering an opportunity to blood youngsters, so it's difficult to say how we, or our opponents, will line up, but with this game representing a great opportunity to put themselves in the shop window I wouldn't bet against some of our players turning it on for the final game of the season.
Prior Form (Most recent at top)
| Premier League | Sunderland | 2-0 | West Brom |
| Premier League | Man Utd | 0-1 | Sunderland |
| Premier League | Sunderland | 4-0 | Cardiff |
| Premier League | Chelsea | 1-2 | Sunderland |
| Premier League | Man City | 2-2 | Sunderland |
| Premier League | Swansea | 0-1 | Southampton |
| Premier League | Swansea | 4-1 | Aston Villa |
| Premier League | Newcastle Utd | 1-2 | Swansea |
| Premier League | Swansea | 0-1 | Chelsea |
| Premier League | Hull City | 1-0 | Swansea |
Team News
Provided by resident fitness guru @BenDinnery - make sure to follow him on Twitter for the latest injury news and views
Swansea travel to Wearside on Sunday for their final game of the 2013/14 season with striker Wilfried Bony brimming full with confidence after cleaning up at Thursday night’s awards ceremony. The Jacks Player of the Year was rightly rewarded following a tremendous debut & the Ivorian international hopes to add to his 16 league goals against a Sunderland side who are expected to ring the changes having stuck with the same starting eleven for the previous five games.
A midweek victory over West Brom secured the Black Cats top flight status and Gus Poyet could rest Sebastian Larsson and Connor Wickham; the duo have played through the pain-barrier in recent games. Lee Cattermole is certain to miss out after picking up a knock on Wednesday. Steven Fletcher & Kieron Westwood remain long-term absentees while Carlos Cuellar (hamstring) has returned to training but could just fall short.
Meanwhile Garry Monk could see his side leap frog West Ham in 12th place with a win at the Stadium of Light, Swansea currently sit one point behind the Hammers who face the impossible task of trying to take points away from The Etihad. Michu (ankle) and Angel Rangel (groin) are definitely ruled out with Chico Flores struggling with a toe injury, the Spanish defender is rated as doubtful.
A midweek victory over West Brom secured the Black Cats top flight status and Gus Poyet could rest Sebastian Larsson and Connor Wickham; the duo have played through the pain-barrier in recent games. Lee Cattermole is certain to miss out after picking up a knock on Wednesday. Steven Fletcher & Kieron Westwood remain long-term absentees while Carlos Cuellar (hamstring) has returned to training but could just fall short.
Meanwhile Garry Monk could see his side leap frog West Ham in 12th place with a win at the Stadium of Light, Swansea currently sit one point behind the Hammers who face the impossible task of trying to take points away from The Etihad. Michu (ankle) and Angel Rangel (groin) are definitely ruled out with Chico Flores struggling with a toe injury, the Spanish defender is rated as doubtful.
Completely guessed lineups
Statistics & Trivia
- Over 80% of Sunderland's home games this season have yielded over 2.5 goals.
- Swansea have conceded at least one goal in each of their last 15 away matches.
- Sunderland have won their last four games.
- 41% (10/24) of Sunderland's goals conceded at home have come in the half hour after half time.
- Sadly, Swansea have only scored four goals in this time period away from home (22.22% of their total away goals scored).
- Swansea have only won one of their 11 league games at Sunderland (L7, D3).
- Sunderland's 4-0 defeat in the corresponding fixture was Gus Poyet's first game in charge - all four goals came in the second half.
- The Black Cats have named the same starting XI in their last five Premier League games - the only team to have done so this season.
- Sunderland sealed a fourth-successive Premier League victory for the first time since December 2000 in midweek. They have not won five successive Premier League games since October 1999.
- Three of Swansea's last five games have ended in 1-0 defeats.
- Wilfried Bony has scored four goals in his last three games, and twelve in his last eighteen.
Straight from the horse's mouth
Wilfried Bony is pleased Monk has been given the manager's role, and is looking to get his (official) tenure off to a flying start:
"I'm very happy that Garry has been given the chance as manager. I knew Garry from before he became coach, so it was not such a big change when he became coach.
"I'm excited about the World Cup, but Swansea are important to me. Hopefully I can score another couple of goals against Sunderland.
"We've been working hard and we had a good season, not like the one before, but to stay in the Premier League, I think we did well."
http://www.swanseacity.net/news/article/bony-post-awards-1543897.aspx#GZ7jMYkvGCc21hPm.99
Analysis
...could be a bit rich, given the fact that this game isn't supposed to mean anything. But does it? Apparently given the swing available this weekend, there is a six million pound difference between the highest and lowest finishing position available, depending on how our and other results go. Ok, players get increased bonuses depending on league positions but it can't be the entirety of the prize money, so the club should definitely be treating this game as they would any other - and to be honest if you ask Garry Monk and Gus Poyet I doubt there'd be any mention of easing up or enjoying the party atmosphere.
Sunderland will be without one common denominator in Ki Sung-Yueng, who is both injured (though there are rumours this is a ruse to guarantee World Cup availability) and ineligible, but they can look to another in Fabio Borini. The little Italian has been in a rich vein of form of late, and Swansea fans - and Monk himself - will know the dangers of the Liverpool loan man all too well. He's a big game player, and he's liable to get a great reception from Swansea fans who, hopefully, won't have to grudgingly applaud a brilliant goal from the ex-Swansea loanee. Well, unless it's a consolation anyway.
I feel like a bit of a cop out, but games on the final day of the season are so infamously hard to predict that there seems little point analysing this matchup any further - with changes possible for both sides it could be two completely different lineups we see as opposed to the ones I've guessed above, so I'm just hoping for a committed performance, a couple of goals from Wilfried Bony and three points to finish the season with a bang. Not a lot to ask for, eh!