MX23RW : Tuesday, November 5 22:56:48| >> :600:142867:142867:

Preview: Swansea City vs. Leicester City

Sports Mole previews the first ever top-division meeting between Swansea City and Leicester City, who meet in the Premier League at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.

Swansea City and Leicester City will contest their first ever top-flight meeting when the Foxes travel to the Liberty Stadium for Saturday's evening kickoff.

The Welsh outfit were barely surviving in the lower divisions while Leicester were enjoying a six-year run in the Premier League at the end of the 20th century.

The Swans have since gone on a remarkable journey which saw them almost bypass a Leicester side slipping alarmingly in the other direction on their way to consolidating themselves in the big time.

They have faced each other only four times in the league - the Championship - and once in the FA Cup, during the past 28 years, with the Midlanders having won on three occasions to Swansea's two.

Both are in need of victory this weekend as they try to regain some of the early-season momentum lost by neither of them having tasted success during October, with Swansea winless in five matches in total.

Three straight wins from the start of the season seem a long time ago now for Swans boss Garry Monk, whose frustration boiled over in the aftermath of their 2-1 defeat to Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium.

The 35-year-old faces an FA charge after describing referee Michael Olivier's award of a first-half penalty to the Potters as a "disgusting decision", moments after accusing Victor Moses of 'cheating' to win the spot kick.

Wilfried Bony had previously scored from the spot for Swansea and will continue up front this weekend, despite having not yet matched the form of last season which saw him net 16 Premier League goals.

Monk is not likely to rush into changes elsewhere either as he attempts to rediscover a winning formula, although Jonjo Shelvey should return in place of Tom Carroll in midfield after serving a suspension.

Jordi Amat, Leon Britton, Ashley Richards and Dwight Tiendalli are missing for the hosts, but Leicester manager Nigel Pearson has only Matthew Upson unavailable in an otherwise fully-fit squad.

Winger Riyad Mahrez may return after sitting out the 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United, while Jamie Vardy is also in contention for a recall to a forward line that will be spearheaded by five-goal striker Leonardo Ulloa.

Swansea are eighth in the table with 11 points from eight games, with Leicester seven places below them.

Recent form

Swansea: LDDLLW

Leicester: LDLWWD

Possible starting lineups

Swansea: Fabianski; Rangel, Fernandez, Williams, Taylor; Shelvey, Ki; Dyer, Sigurdsson, Routledge; Bony

Leicester: Schmeichel, De Laet, Morgan, Moore, Konchesky; Cambiasso, Hammond, Drinkwater; Mahrez, Vardy, Ulloa

Sports Mole says: 2-1


ID:184230: cacheID:184230:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:6135:No Data Analysis info

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Diego Costa of Chelsea celebrates as he scores their first goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Chelsea and Leicester City at Stamford Bridge on August 23, 2014
Read Next:
Preview: Chelsea vs. Swansea
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sunderland139222391429
2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd149321871128
3Leeds UnitedLeeds137512281426
4Burnley136521761123
5Watford147162222022
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom13562148621
7Middlesbrough146351816221
8Millwall135441612419
9Blackburn RoversBlackburn135441614219
10Swansea CitySwansea14545119219
11Bristol City144731819-119
12Norwich CityNorwich144642320318
13Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds145361724-718
14Oxford UnitedOxford Utd144551717017
15Coventry CityCoventry134361717015
16Derby CountyDerby134361617-115
17Stoke CityStoke134361518-315
18Hull City143651518-315
19Cardiff CityCardiff134361319-615
20Plymouth ArgylePlymouth144371425-1115
21Preston North EndPreston133551420-614
22Luton TownLuton133371521-612
23Queens Park RangersQPR141761223-1110
24Portsmouth141671327-149


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!