Nathan Lewis takes his weekly look at our last four fixtures versus this weekend's opponent
Our opponents this Saturday lie just outside the relegation places, while we sit in fifth. An easy win, surely? Let’s take a look at this week’s #FlashbackFour!
1st September 2012 - Premier League
Swansea 2-2 Sunderland
After a perfect start to the season against QPR and West Ham, the Swans came into this game searching for a third win in three games. It was not to be however, as we met a strong Sunderland side with debutant Steven Fletcher leading the line for Martin O’Neill’s men. Fletcher twice gave the Black Cats the lead after sloppy defensive errors allowed him two easy chances - firstly when Ash misplaced a backpass allowing Fletcher to stroll in and curl his shot past the onrushing Vorm, then (following a neat equaliser that showed off our free-flowing passing game) Vorm failed to deal with a cross (classic Michel...) and Fletcher forced past Chico to tap in.
After half-time, we were much, much more impressive, and Michu continued his fine form with a strong header from de Guzman’s cross. It was in this game that we saw the first signs of Chico’s madness - having impressed in the first two games, the flamboyant Spaniard decided to leave his foot somewhere near Louis Saha’s skull and get himself sent off. Little did we know this was only the beginning of the maverick centre-back’s antics. This game will always be remembered for the sad injury to Neil Taylor, who suffered a broken and dislocated ankle, leaving him out for a big chunk of the season.
29 January 2013 - Premier League
Sunderland 0-0 Swansea
This match was characterised by first half domination, great passing, and a complete inability to create real chances. Sound familiar? You may notice a slight pattern in matches under Michael Laudrup. Danny Graham’s poor relationship with, well, everyone saw him sat on the bench while Itay Shechter valiantly [are you sure?! - Ed] led the line, and Michu failed to provide the spark that we needed to create chances. The best that can be said about this ninety minutes is that we completely stopped Sunderland from providing any form of threat, with the Swans looking like the only team in with a chance of taking all three points. All in all, nothing too much to shout about.
19th October 2013 - Premier League
Swansea 4-0 Sunderland
Welcome to the Premier League, Gus! After Paulo Di Canio’s chaotic regime was brought to an end Poyet’s first game was at the Liberty Stadium, and it’s probably fair to say that this was not the welcome in the hillside he was hoping for. Phil Bardsley endured a terrible game: having skied a fantastic chance to give Sunderland the lead, he then diverted the ball into his own net from a Rangel corner.
We were then witness to a sumptuous goal - Jonathan de Guzman let the ball roll across his body, took one touch and curled a beautiful effort into the top corner. Lovely stuff. After Britton was brought down by Craig Gardner, Bony slotted home from the sport to score Swansea’s third goal in seven minutes. The Swans were in total control in the second-half, and the result was completely wrapped up by Chico heading home a corner, via a Steven Fletcher deflection.
11th May 2014 - Premier League
Sunderland 1-3 Swansea
Both teams would’ve been forgiven for being mentally on the beach at this stage, having wrapped up safety before the last game of the season. Poyet’s men were on a great run, having dragged themselves up from the bottom of the table, while the Swans were buzzing after The Monk was confirmed as our permanent manager. Nathan Dyer showed a glimpse of his current excellent form, reaching a threaded through ball from Wayne Routledge and clipping home to give us the lead after just seven minutes.
Our second came seven minutes later, as Emnes channeled his famous goal against Cardiff, holding the ball, turning, and walloping the ball into the net. My love for Marvin grew exponentially. Sunderland battled to get back into the game, but couldn’t provide much danger before half-time - that changed however after the break as Borini scored against his former club to bring The Black Cats back within a goal. Thankfully, Emnes turned provider to set up Bony for his 26th goal in all competitions. A great way to finish off Monk’s first 3 months as manager.
Overall record last four games vs Sunderland
Games Played: 4
Wins: 2
Draws: 2
Losses: 0
Goals scored: 9
Goals Conceded: 3
Wins: 2
Draws: 2
Losses: 0
Goals scored: 9
Goals Conceded: 3
Easily the most positive #FlashbackFour we’ve seen so far, with the Swans unbeaten against Sunderland since our rise to the Premiership, and the ease with which we've dispatched the Black Cats (until now, anyway) can only be encouraging - especially now that we've strengthened our attacking options. The goals scored by Sunderland in these matches have been largely due to our defensive lapses, and if we can keep them out of our game, it should all look good for Saturday.
My prediction: Sunderland 0-2 Swansea
Thanks to Nathan as usual for this week's #FlashbackFour - what're your predictions? Get in touch using the comment section below, and you can follow Nathan on Twitter @NathDavidLewis