Nathan Lewis takes his weekly look back at the last four fixtures against our upcoming opponents. This week Tottenham Hotspur get the flashback treatment...
This season’s fixture against Tottenham Hotspur takes on added significance, with Ben Davies potentially set to start against the Swans for the first time, Gylfi Sigurdsson aiming to prove his former employers wrong, and Michel Vorm watching from the bench. But how have we fared when we’ve taken on the London side in the past few years? Let’s have a look, with this week’s #FlashbackFour:
16th December 2012 – Premier League
Spurs 1-0 Swansea
‘Twas the week before Christmas, and Michael Laudrup’s Swans had made an impressive start to the season, firmly lodged in mid-table, safely tucked away from the relegation zone. Despite falling to their second successive defeat, Swansea battled hard throughout the ninety minutes to make things difficult for AVB’s men. Had they been able to convert an early chance in which a Jon De Guzman corner made it past the first man to find an unmarked Chico, the game may have been completely different.
As it was, Spurs looked the more likely to score throughout, and their goal eventually came from possibly the unlikeliest source: Jan Vertonghen. Well found by a Kyle Walker free-kick, Vertonghen calmly controlled the ball, spun and guided the ball into the bottom corner to leave the Swans heartbroken. There was late controversy after Michu was knocked out by Hugo Lloris’ enthusiastic punched clearance, the game continuing despite Michu seemingly suffering from a head injury.
30th March 2013 – Premier League
Swansea 1-2 Spurs
Pick two players who would cause Swansea problems in this fixture. The first is easy – Bale. Would you ever have picked Jan Vertonghen though? Following on from his cool finish in the previous fixture, the Belgian was involved in both Tottenham goals. For the first, he exchanged a one-two with Gareth Bale before finishing calmly past Michel Vorm. Five minutes later, he turned provider, giving Bale the chance to fire a 20-yard shot into the top corner.
Twelve minutes into the game, and it seemed like the game was already over. Haven fallen behind early the Swans were low on confidence, but eventually played their way back into the match, Michu scoring his first goal since the League Cup final. It could have been the equaliser had Nathan Dyer – famously dangerous in the air – headed the ball into the net rather than onto the crossbar, but it was not to be and Spurs completed a double over Laudrup’s side.
25th August 2013 – Premier League
Spurs 1-0 Swansea
You know how Roberto Soldado has a terrible goalscoring record in the Premier League, and seems like he can only score penalties? That’s right, he scored the only goal in this match, slotting the ball home from the penalty spot after a Jonjo Shelvey foul on Andros Townsend. While the Swans will have been disappointed to concede from a penalty-kick, they will have been relatively pleased with their performance, challenging the hosts for significant chunks of the match.
If Chico’s impressive late volley hadn’t been tipped over the bar by Hugo Lloris the Swans could have claimed a deserved point - as it was, we were left with another encouraging performance paired with a disappointing result. Classic Swansea.
19th January 2014 – Premier League
Swansea 1-3 Spurs
Two managers in spells of almost exactly opposite fortune. With this victory, Tim Sherwood continued his impressive start as Spurs manager, leading them to a fifth victory in six games. Laudrup on the other hand was enduring a spell of eight games without a win, and was a month away from losing his job, as it turned out. The Swans had the chances to claim a rare victory against Spurs, with Wilfried Bony providing Hugo Lloris with plenty to think about, but just failing to find the net.
A familiar story for the Swans, as a lack of clinical edge eventually resulted in Tottenham taking their own chances and the lead. Emanuel Adebayor scored a brace, either side of a Chico own goal. Bony’s consolation goal provided some hope for the Swans fans, but they eventually fell to another loss.
Played: 4
Won: 0
Drawn: 0
Lost: 4
Goals Scored: 2
Goals Conceded: 7
Fairly bleak reading for a Swans fan there, it seems. We haven’t claimed a victory against Spurs since 1991, and our most impressive result then was the 1-1 draw in our first Premier League season. Ever the optimist, I feel there’s a possibility we could get something out of this Sunday’s game, and if Gylfi can control the game, we will be well in with a shout.
Prediction: Swansea 1-1 Spurs
Thanks to Nathan as usual for his contribution - give him a follow on Twitter @NathDavidLewis. Do you agree with his prediction? Can the Swans get a result against Spurs?