The Match
Swansea were robbed of a win which they possibly wouldn't have deserved against Kuban Krasnodar thanks to a last minute penalty converted by Djibril Cisse, and they'll need to play a lot better than they did on Thursday night if they're to come away with any points from this one. With a number of players likely return to the starting lineup we can be confident the performance level will improve, and Ashley Williams chomping at the bit must surely have an invigorating effect on the team. Hopefully Laudrup restores Leon, Rangel, De Guzman and Pablo to the team - including those players would, to me, raise the overall calibre of our starting XI and give us a much better chance of a result.
West Ham have enjoyed a mixed bag of results this season. They have had some tricky fixtures, but they've beaten Cardiff twice (snigger) already, however home losses to Stoke and Everton will have stung. Whether they view this fixture as winnable I can't say (although it's probable), and Sam Allardyce is very unlikely to try to match Swansea's passing game. Expect a rough and tumble performance with plenty of pressing high up the field, and for them to try and close down our defensive midfielders - thus strangling our possession game.
Prior Form (Most recent at top)
Team News - provided by Physioroom.com's Ben Dinnery
Swansea entertain West Ham United this weekend in a return to their familiar Sunday afternoon slot, kick-off at 4pm. The Jacks should finally welcome back winger Pablo Hernandez after almost two months out with a thigh muscle strain and a bout of illness. However this weekend will come too early for captain Ashley Williams, the Welsh international is close to a full recovery with the Cardiff or Stoke City game a more realistic target. Full-back Ben Davies misses out with ankle ligament damage which could see him side-lined for up to a month.
For West Ham, news that Andy Carroll could be close to a return are a little wide of the mark. The England international is still in Belgium and may not be back for two or three weeks with a possible return pencilled in for the end of November. James Collins (hamstring) will once again miss out along with full-back George McCartney who continues to battle with an on-going knee problem, but fellow defender Guy Demel has recovered from the slight knock he picked up against Manchester City. Alou Diarra remains a long-term absentee.
For West Ham, news that Andy Carroll could be close to a return are a little wide of the mark. The England international is still in Belgium and may not be back for two or three weeks with a possible return pencilled in for the end of November. James Collins (hamstring) will once again miss out along with full-back George McCartney who continues to battle with an on-going knee problem, but fellow defender Guy Demel has recovered from the slight knock he picked up against Manchester City. Alou Diarra remains a long-term absentee.
Completely guessed lineups
Statistics & Trivia
- West Ham have only won four of their twenty-two visits to Swansea.
- Swansea are looking to win consecutive league games for the first time since last December.
- 16 goals have been scored at the Liberty so far this season - more than any other Premier League ground.
- Swansea have drawn only one game so far this season - only Crystal Palce (0) have drawn less games.
- West Ham have the worst shot accuracy in the Premier League - 29.6%.
- When Swansea have kept a clean sheet this season (which they've done three times), they've won.
- West Ham haven't won consecutive away games since December 2007.
- Five of West Ham's eight goals conceded have come from set pieces - a league high percentage.
- West Ham have failed to score in six of their last nine away matches.
- The last three competitive meetings between Swansea and West Ham have seen the home side win whilst keeping a clean sheet.
- Swansea's pass success rate is 86%, compared to West Ham's 73%.
Straight from the horse's mouth
Michael Laudrup thinks West Ham are in "our league", as it were:
Sam Allardyce thinks home form is more of a pressing concern than their form away from Upton Park:
"We want a positive result. It will be a tough one because West Ham are a very strong, physical team. Last year at home we started well because they made a mistake, a back pass for Michu to score the first goal, and the first two chances we got we scored.
"I can't say we need to win it, we would like to. I think West Ham are in 'our league' and we play at home, so again it is one of those where you say it is a big chance to get points if we can."Michel Vorm insists only a win will do:
http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/story-19992132-detail/story.html?#ixzz2ipK9gGo7
"There's a very positive vibe after beating Sunderland 4-0. Everyone knew we hadn't won at home for a while in the Premier League. West Ham are not a top, top team but they are a strong side. They are a team we need to win at home against, these are the type of games we need to win at home.
"There's no option other than winning."
http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/story-19992740-detail/story.html?#ixzz2ipKnBeBv
Sam Allardyce thinks home form is more of a pressing concern than their form away from Upton Park:
"I couldn't knock the performances too much but I think we're about four points short of what we should have achieved. My huge concern is the fact that we've lost three home games on the trot, that never happened last season and if fact we only lost four all season at home.
"That's my biggest worry, our away performances have been very good but our results haven't matched the performances. We should have beaten Newcastle, we certainly shouldn't have lost against Hull City we had a good draw at Southampton and a great win against Tottenham.
"We've got to make sure we give our all in the Premier League because we're a 100 per cent team and we need to play at 100 per cent to win a game of football in the Premier League."
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/347250/West-Ham-boss-Sam-Allardyce-admits-need-for-a-striker-for-clash-against-Swansea-City
Analysis
A bit up and down this week, eh? Massive league victory - good. Lacklustre Europa League performance...not good. Laudrup will be hoping reinstating regular "first choice" players to the team will bring about a return to form, which would see us winning back to back home games for the first time in a while. This game also marks five of our last six being played at home, and a win would make it three wins out of the five home games - not a bad return at all.
Leon Britton showed what he can bring to the team with an incredible performance against Sunderland, and expect more of the same tomorrow. Diame, Noble and Nolan are a formidable set of opponents but I expect him to have too much awareness to be seriously troubled, and we should be able to bat back any prospective attacks.
Key will be watching for long diagonals up to whoever's occupying the target-man spot, as no doubt West Ham will look to be more direct than we will. If Carlton Cole gets the nod he'll be looking to prove a point, so Chico Flores & Jordi Amat will need to be on their guard, as well as making sure Neil Taylor and Angel Rangel help to form an effective unit.
I want Bony to start, and I'm convinced he's going to start scoring. Ok, he didn't play well against Kuban, but neither did anyone really and while he did miscontrol it on occasions on the whole his ball retention was good considering the level of attention he found himself receiving. We need to give him more space - by crowding him with teammates he has no room to operate when all he needs is to be given the ball and the space he needs to turn and beat his man. If we always give it to him with his back to goal, he needs to then have a little bit of room in which to manoeuvre himself into a shooting position - if he's got Michu, De Guzman and Routledge running on his heels that becomes somewhat more difficult.
I'm confident of a result tomorrow. With a couple of important changes to the team expected, we'll have more zip about our midfield and I think that will be key in dismantling West Ham. Home win, and Swansea up to 13 points in the league from 9 games - that wouldn't be too bad at all. In fact, we'd be two points better off than after nine games last year. Have that for a stat.