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............................................... 
Sunderland................................... vs ...................... Swansea City
Stadium of Light
Sunderland
Sat 21-01-12 15:00 PM KO
For links to watch the game online, click HERE
Welcome one and all to the match thread for the game between Sunderland and Swansea City. When the teams met early on in the season in the reverse fixture at the Liberty Stadium, things were very different indeed. Sunderland fans were probably waiting for their season to really "kick off", while the home fans were still waiting for their team to find a way of using their football to penetrate PL defences. Thankfully for both teams, things seem to have come together, although the Swans loftier position in the league will no doubt be a cause of consternation for Sunderland who pre-season would have been tipped to finish high above the South Walians. Resurgent under O'Neill since his arrival on December the 3rd, the Black Cats will be looking to push on higher and higher in the league, and no doubt O'Neill will be looking to the transfer window as he'll be aiming to supplement his new squad.
The Match;
Sunderland went down 1-0 at Chelsea last time out, and will be looking to get back to winning ways in front of their home fans . 5 victories in 8 matches, including a run of five games without defeat, will no doubt add confidence and they will be looking to build on recent form, after an impressive victory over Man City and a big away win at Wigan. Sunderland can actually claim a positive goal difference, and the nearest team to be able to say the same thing is Liverpool in 7th place, giving reason to believe that even though the Swans are above the Black Cats in the league, this is realistically a false position for Sunderland to be in and come the end of the season they will be in the top half of the table.
Swansea come into this match in probably the best form they've enjoyed thus far in this campaign. A first win against a "big club" against Arsenal at the Liberty which saw the Welsh side praised from all quarters (even, begrudgingly, from Arsene Wenger's) came after a 4-2 away win at Barnsley in the FA Cup, which in turn followed a first away win of the season at Villa Park, triumphing 2-0. Swansea will no doubt be full of confidence, but will be wary of a Sunderland team who are more than capable of taking all three points.
Prior Form; (most recent at top)
Chelsea 1 - 0 Sunderland Premier League
Peterborough 0 - 2 Sunderland FA Cup
Wigan 1 - 4 Sunderland Premier League
Sunderland 1 - 0 Man City Premier League
Sunderland 1 - 1 Everton Premier League
Swansea City 3 -2 Arsenal Premier League
Barnsley 2 - 4 Swansea City FA Cup
Aston Villa 0 - 2 Swansea City Premier League
Swansea City 1 -1 Tottenham Premier League
Swansea City 1 -1 QPR Premier League
Team News
Sunderland Gordon and Angeleri are yet to appear this season due to knee injuries, while Matt Kilgallon and Wes Brown are doubtful with ankle and groin problems, respectively. Frazer Campbell could soon be pushing for a place, while Jack Colback is expected back next month.
Swansea have, still, a fully fit squad to choose from. Remarkable, really! Alan Tate continues his recovery from a broken leg and will no doubt be giving Brendan Rodgers jip soon about when he can get back in the squad.
Trivia; - "Courtesy" of Opta
- Swansea are unbeaten in their last seven games against Sunderland winning four and drawing three.
- The Wearsiders' last win against the Swans came in April 1964.
- Sunderland have lost just one of their last eight matches at the Stadium of Light (W3 D4 L1).
- Swansea have failed to score in half of their 10 Premier League away games.
- Swansea have lost just one of their last seven Premier League matches (W3 D3 L1).
- 33% of the goals Sunderland have conceded have been headers, the highest proportion in the top flight.
- Angel Rangel has averaged more touches per 90 minutes (97) than any other player in the Premier League.
- Swansea's woodwork has been struck 14 times, more often than any other team.
- Nathan Dyer has scored in his last three appearances for Swansea in all competitions, including his last two away games.
- Ashley Williams has blocked more opposition shots than any other player in the Premier League (28).
- Only Wigan (39%) have scored a higher proportion of goals from outside the box than Sunderland (30%) and half of those netted by the Black Cats have been direct free kicks.
Sunderland
Mignolet
Bardsley
Richardson
Turner
O'Shea
Cattermole
Larsson
Vaughan
Sessegnon
Wickham
Bendtner
Swansea
Vorm
Rangel
Taylor
Williams
Caulker
Britton
Augustien
Allen
Sinclair
Dyer
Graham
Key Battles;
Seb Larsson & Lee Cattermole vs Swansea's "midfield trio"
With Larsson and Cattermole you are provided with two things - end product and grit. Larsson possesses deadly quality with his right boot and the ex-Arsenal & Birmingham man will need to be watched with the utmost cautiousness if the Swans are to keep him quiet, while Cattermole will no doubt go about trying to make sure the Swans are unable to do it. Kemy Augustien must surely start as his physical presence will surely be needed against a big, imposing Sunderland side.
Analysis;
Firstly, I have to mention... "Swansea have only lost once in their last seven Premier League games, (W3 D3 L1)!? Where did that come from?!
Anyway, on to the game.
There is a real danger for the Swans travelling to Wearside of coming back down to earth with a bump, both metaphorically and literally. O'Neill likes his teams to play fast, effective football erring on the physical side, and Sunderland have the players to do that. I fancy him to play both Wickham and Bendtner, purely to see what happens, as that is a lot of physical presence for the shortest side in the league to deal with. Ash Williams and Steven Caulker will have their hands full, regardless of who plays, because combining with the big centre forward(s) will be Stephane Sessegnon, a real quality player. Neat in possession, able to dribble and shoot with both feet, Sessegnon will be a cause for concern as he marauds in front of the Swansea backline.
The Swans have been heavily laden with plaudits in the week following that momentous win over Arsenal, but the danger is the team may take too much from the victory. As I said after the game, while Arsenal are are a good side, they're easily the weakest of the "big" sides at the moment, and were further weakened through injury. If we play like we did last Saturday against Man City, for example, I'd expect us to ship more goals than two. I see this game going more the way of the Newcastle vs Swansea game, where the Swans will look to sit and allow Sunderland possession in their half, before pressing hard as soon as they try and break down the defence, before breaking at speed on the counter attack. The inclusion of Gylfi Sigurdsson in the squad for the Swans means we'll probably see the Hoffenheim player at some point, and his passing could help spring the Sunderland defence on the break.
One area I feel the Swans can get at Sunderland, though, is around the back. Keiron Richardson may be fast but is no natural defender, and Phil Bardsley is no speed merchant. Nathan Dyer is on top form at the moment and will run at his man at every opportunity, and you also get the feeling that Scott Sinclair is ever so slowly playing his way into some form, as some confidence finally returns to the man who lit up the Championship so often last year. David Vaughan will be re-acquainted with a few Wales team-mates but the niceties will no doubt be saved until after the match, as this is a match that both teams will be confident they can win given recent form.
All in all, it should prove a frenetic contest played by two teams who believe in the football they play, and are confident in it's ability to bring results. Granted, it's early doors for O'Neill but the sides form since he's come in has given real cause for hope that the second half of the season will be better for Sunderland fans than the first. Large numbers of people in South Wales, however, will be hoping to stall the Wearsiders climb up the table for at least one more week.
Iechyd Da.
Scott
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