Newcastle United are running out of games to secure their Premier League survival as they have just six left to pull themselves out of the bottom three.
Rafael Benitez's side are 19th in the standings, six points from safety, while Saturday's opponents Swansea City managed to reach the all-important 40-point mark by beating Chelsea at the weekend.
Newcastle United
© Getty Images
Benitez was brought into the club last month to steer Newcastle away from the relegation zone, but it is proving difficult for the Spaniard to complete his task.
Since taking over from Steve McClaren, the former Liverpool manager has recorded three defeats and one draw, which was against arch rivals Sunderland at St James' Park on March 20.
The Magpies have not tasted victory in the Premier League since February 6 when they earned a slender 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion.
Since then, the North-East outfit have lost six and drawn one, with their latest defeat coming at St Mary's, where Southampton ran out 3-1 winners on home turf.
Newcastle were dealt a blow in the fourth minute when Shane Long scored, and the Magpies failed to recover as Graziano Pelle and Victor Wanyama added to the scoresheet.
Andros Townsend netted in the 65th minute, but it proved to be a consolation goal as Newcastle recorded their 19th league defeat of the season.
Since Benitez took over, aside from the 1-0 defeat to Leicester City, Newcastle have scored in every game - netting once against Sunderland and Southampton, and twice against Norwich City.
Prior to Benitez's arrival, the team had scored nine league goals since the turn of the year, but their problem is finishing games off and that was clear to see in their 3-2 defeat to Norwich on April 2.
Aleksandar Mitrovic managed to equalise for the Magpies twice in the game at Carrow Road, but rather than see the game out and collect a point, Newcastle conceded a 93rd-minute goal from Martin Olsson.
Since March, the North-East outfit have only played at home in the league twice and those games ended in a defeat and a draw, but they are back at St James' Park this weekend and will need their faithful following to help them over the line.
Recent form: LLLDLL
Swansea City
© Getty Images
Many fans at the Liberty Stadium would have breathed a sigh of relief last weekend when their side claimed 40 points, which tends to indicate Premier League safety.
The Swans fell dangerously close to a relegation battle in the closing weeks of Garry Monk's time in charge, but head coach Francesco Guidolin has managed to all but save the Welsh outfit from the drop after joining on a short-term deal in January.
Swansea have only suffered defeat once in their last six league matches and that was in a 3-2 loss to Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on March 12.
Heading into last weekend's match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, the Swans had never before beaten the Blues, but they changed the history books by condemning the West London outfit to their first league defeat since Guus Hiddink took over as interim boss in December.
It was Gylfi Sigurdsson who nabbed the only goal of the game in the 25th minute and placed Swansea, who are 13th in the table, in the same 40-point bracket shared by Everton and West Bromwich Albion.
February was a difficult month for the Welsh club as they recorded two defeats and two draws, but they bounced back in March and April by earning victories over Arsenal, Norwich City, Aston Villa and Chelsea.
After facing Newcastle, the team have a difficult run of games as they take on league leaders Leicester City, Liverpool, West Ham United and Manchester City before the season comes to an end, making their 40 points all the more important.
Recent form: WWLWDW
Team News
© Getty Images
Jack Colback is expected to return to the Newcastle lineup after missing the last two games due to suspension, while Paul Dummett is also likely to come back into the fold following an injury spell.
The left-back was included on the bench against Southampton, but could be involved in the starting XI if deemed fit enough by Benitez.
Daryl Janmaat is unlikely to feature due to a groin problem and the fact that he broke two fingers after punching a wall in the dressing room, while defender Steven Taylor is also a doubt.
As for Swansea, aside from Leon Britton's back injury, the squad has a relatively clean bill of health.
Newcastle United possible starting lineup:
Darlow; Dummett, Taylor, Mbemba, Anita; Colback, Shelvey; Townsend, Wijnaldum, Perez; Mitrovic
Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Rangel, Fernandez, Williams, Taylor; Cork, Fer; Sigurdsson, Montero, Ayew; Paloschi
Head To Head
Swansea have already tasted victory over Newcastle this season as they earned a 2-0 victory at the Liberty Stadium in August thanks to goals from Bafetimbi Gomis and Andre Ayew.
It was a bad day for the Magpies as Janmaat was sent for a second bookable offence in the 41st minute, and that was not the first time that the club have been upset by Swansea.
In the four meetings between 2013 and the end of the 2015 season, Newcastle have lost three times and recorded one draw with the Swans.
The Dugout Podcast
Hit play below to listen to Sports Mole's new podcast 'The Dugout' for our take on the week's biggest football talking points:
We say: Newcastle United 1-2 Swansea City
Newcastle still have it all to do in order to retain their Premier League status, but they have just six games left to get the job done. Benitez is still searching for his first win in charge of the Magpies, and while they will have the backing of the home crowd on Saturday, they are facing a team that have just beaten Chelsea and are looking to stretch their unbeaten run to three four league games. Newcastle could score in front of their home fans, but it will not be a surprise if Swansea see the game out.
No Data Analysis info
