Swansea vs Southampton

September 19, 2014
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Swansea City remain in excellent position in spite of the 4-2 defeat at Stamford Bridge and they will now attempt to return to winning ways against fellow high flyers Southampton. The Saints hammered Newcastle 4-0 to record their third successive win in all competitions, and they will want more of the same ahead of the Capital One Cup clash with Arsenal.

Swans impress even w/o goals from attack

Former club captain Gary Monk passed his first managerial test with flying colours as he steered Swansea away from the relegation zone last term and he is now out to lead the club to unimagined heights. Even with some excellent signings this summer, chances are that the return of Sigurdsson and Ki will have proved to be the best piece of transfer business, but the good news is the entire team have been quite impressive in the opening exchanges. Despite the fact that attackers Bony and Gomis have yet to register their first Premier League goals of the season, Swansea did brilliantly to win their opening three league fixtures, defeating Manchester United, Burnley and West Bromwich for a perfect start. While also seeing off Rotherham United in the Capital One Cup, the Swans suffered the first defeat of the season as they lost to Chelsea last weekend, but things could have been different had Diego Costa not scored in the dying moments of the first period. Nevertheless, Gary Monk and his men can be quite happy with their achievements so far, although they have to be wary of Southampton who are also on top of their game. And with both sides looking good at the back and unlikely to throw caution to the wind, we could see a very tight game at Liberty Stadium.

Federico Fernandez will come in for injured Jordi Amat, while Leon Britton remains sidelined through a knee injury.

Saints proving doubters wrong

There were many of those predicting a difficult relegation tussle for Southampton after the club sold almost all key players this summer, but some excellent replacements and the good job of new boss Ronald Koeman have ensured the Saints keep their excellent run going. The likes of Forster, Bertrand, Tadic, Pelle, Long and Alderweireld have already nailed down regular starting berths and played important roles in the very good start to the season, whilst Morgan Schneiderlin quickly showed why he is on the radar of Europe’s top clubs, scoring 3 goals in 4 Premier League fixtures. And with Sadio Mane set to join the squad after receiving his work permit, it appears that Koeman now has even more quality options that his predecessor, which is likely to prove a major advantage during the busy Christmas schedule and business end of the season. The Saints are flying high following a three-match winning run in all competitions, but in spite of the 4-0 triumph over sorry Newcastle, they could be in for a difficult match at the Liberty Stadium. Ronald Koeman has hinted that he will adopt a cautious approach against Swansea, meaning a low-scoring match could be on the cards.

Sadio Mane is unlikely to be in contention having just joined the squad, while Jay Rodriguez, Lloyd Isgrove and Sam Gallagher are out injured.

Verdict

This will be a clash between two evenly matched sides that have enjoyed bright starts to the season, and while we should see a quality game, chances should be few and far between. Both teams are pretty strong at the back and will play it patiently, meaning that a draw is the most likely outcome here.

Top pick: Draw   3.40 (12/5) @ SkyBet

Alternative pick 1: Under 2.5 goals   1.80 (4/5) @ bet365

Alternative pick 2: Under 1.5 goals   3.40 (12/5) @ Sportingbet

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