Nathan Lewis returns to cast his eye over the last four matchups between Swansea & Burnley
Having taken three points away from Old Trafford on Saturday, this weekend Swansea play host to ‘Ginger Mourinho' Sean Dyche and his newly-promoted Burnley side. The last four meetings between the two teams took place in the Championship, and featured such heavyweights as Tyrone "He played in France you know" Mears, Chris Eagles and Martin Paterson. Let’s take a look at how we fared against the men in claret and blue.
September 20th 2008 - Championship
Swansea 1-1 Burnley
The first meeting of the teams in thirteen years, this game was almost a perfect definition of a Championship match, with a niggling undercurrent of fouls and yellow cards, a strong midfield battle, and an injury-time equaliser. Neither side was able to dominate proceedings, and the two teams exchanged shots in the first half, with Darren Pratley and Andrea Orlandi both threatening Burnley ‘keeper Brian Jensen, while Graham Alexander provided Swansea with a few nervy moments. The deadlock was broken by Joey Gudjonsson around the hour mark, but Angel Rangel crossed for Ferrie Bodde to head home to give Swansea a hard-earned point.
January 10th 2009 - Championship
Burnley 0-2 Swansea
The Swans came into this game on a remarkable run of eight consecutive draws. The outcome of the match was mostly decided by one 35th minute incident. Centre-back Michael Duff was sent off for trying to share Jason Scotland’s shirt, and Scotland stepped up to convert the resulting penalty.
Swansea controlled the rest of the match, with Burnley giving Dorus de Vries very little to worry about. With Burnley committing more and more men forward, Mark Gower provided Jason Scotland with a tap-in to secure his brace and all three points for the Swans.
August 28th 2010 - Championship
Swansea 1-0 Burnley
A first strike in what would become a very successful season for Scott Sinclair was the deciding moment in this match, a goal on eight minutes helping Rodgers to make it two home wins out of two. The Swans dominated large chunks of this match, and only towards the end did Burnley begin to apply some pressure. Not much else to shout about in this one, although both Darren Pratley and Tyrone Mears were sent off for two bookable offences. A solid start to the promotion-winning season.
April 16th 2011 - Championship
Burnley 2-1 Swansea
With both sides in the hunt for promotion, this was sure to be a keenly contested match. Swansea took the lead early in the second half, with Fabio Borini continuing his great form on loan from Chelsea. That lasted only four minutes when a rare Ashley Williams mistake at the back resulted in an own goal. Burnley, chasing a playoff place, secured the win with a Chris Eagles penalty, after Angel Rangel brought Jay Rodriguez down in the box.
Overall record V Burnley (last 4 games)
Wins: 2
Draws: 1
Losses: 1
Goals Scored: 5
Goals Conceded: 3
The matches that we’ve reviewed were all at Championship level, and the quality of players at our disposal (though I can't say I know much about Burnley’s) is now of a much higher standard. Instead of the scrappy, tight affairs that characterise the Championship, we can expect a better quality game on Saturday. It’s hard to see how Burnley’s defence can stop Bony and co. from causing them damage.
At the end of last week’s round-up, I wasn’t exactly brimming with confidence, predicting a 2-1 loss. I was proven wrong, and we came away with the win. So, I move boldly on to my second prediction, and hope I’m not wrong this time...
Nathan’s Prediction: Swansea 3-0 Burnley
Draws: 1
Losses: 1
Goals Scored: 5
Goals Conceded: 3
The matches that we’ve reviewed were all at Championship level, and the quality of players at our disposal (though I can't say I know much about Burnley’s) is now of a much higher standard. Instead of the scrappy, tight affairs that characterise the Championship, we can expect a better quality game on Saturday. It’s hard to see how Burnley’s defence can stop Bony and co. from causing them damage.
At the end of last week’s round-up, I wasn’t exactly brimming with confidence, predicting a 2-1 loss. I was proven wrong, and we came away with the win. So, I move boldly on to my second prediction, and hope I’m not wrong this time...
Nathan’s Prediction: Swansea 3-0 Burnley
Bold prediction from Nathan there! Agree? Disagree? You can follow him on Twitter @NathDavidLewis
Thanks to him for this latest preview - make sure to check back ahead of upcoming matches to see future installments!