MX23RW : Thursday, December 26 15:24:55| >> :120:78354:78354:

Preview: Swansea City vs. West Bromwich Albion

Sports Mole previews the Premier League clash between Swansea and West Brom as the Welsh hosts look to continue their 100% start against the unbeaten Baggies.

Swansea City will defend their 100% start to the Premier League season on Saturday afternoon when they host a West Bromwich Albion side who have drawn all three of their games under new manager Alan Irvine.

The Welsh outfit are alongside some of England's elite at the top of the table with six points from two games.

Garry Monk's side followed up victories over Manchester United and Burnley by avoiding a Capital One Cup upset at the hands of Championship new boys Rotherham United on Tuesday evening.

Albion also secured passage into the third round of the competition, but not so convincingly. They needed penalties to overcome League Two Oxford United at The Hawthorns after conceding a late equaliser.

The Baggies remain unbeaten since Irvine's surprise appointment in the summer, picking up a good point at Southampton last week, and they may have found themselves in an even better position had their concentration not lapsed in the final minutes of their 2-2 opening-day draw with Sunderland.

Joleon Lescott's introduction in defence will shore West Brom up, but the former England international is still short of match fitness and therefore Craig Dawson will be retained at the Liberty Stadium.

Jonas Olsson should return to partner him at centre-half after being rested in midweek, while shootout hero Jason Davidson may keep his place at left-back, with Sebastien Pocognoli nursing a groin strain.

There are also doubts over the fitness of Victor Anichebe and therefore club-record signing Brown Ideye, who missed his spot kick against the Millers, may still be handed a first Premier League start.

His fellow new arrivals Cristian Gamboa, Silvestre Varela and Georgios Samaras will likely be substitutes, with Craig Gardner expected to keep his place in midfield and Saido Berahino in good early-season form.

Albion have brought in more players than any other top-flight team this summer (10), but Swansea have done some good business themselves and some of their new boys were impressive in midweek outings.

Bafetimbi Gomis scored in the 1-0 victory, while £8m defender Federico Fernandez and Tottenham Hotspur loanee Tom Carroll also shone, but Monk is likely to revert to the same XI that beat Burnley last weekend.

That means starts for Ki Sung-yeung, who signed a new four-year contract with the club this week, and Nathan Dyer, who celebrated his 100th Premier League appearance for the Swans with the winning goal against the Clarets. Leon Britton and Marvin Emnes are the home side's only senior absentees.

The last 12 meetings between these sides span across three different divisions and have only witnessed one draw.

Recent form

Swansea: WWW

West Brom: DDD

Possible starting lineups

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

West Brom: Foster; Wisdom, Dawson, Olsson, Davidson; Dorrans, Gardner, Mulumbu, Brunt; Berahino, Ideye

Sports Mole says: 1-0


ID:173636: cacheID:173636:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:8046:
Written by
Joe Fish
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:
West Brom players celebrate after Jonny Mullins of Oxford United scores an own goal during the Capital One Cup second round match on August 26, 2014
Read Next:
Baggies need pens to beat Oxford
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd22155232112148
2Leeds UnitedLeeds22136341152645
3Burnley2212822891944
4Sunderland22127334181643
5Blackburn RoversBlackburn2111462518737
6Middlesbrough22105738281035
7West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom22811326161035
8Watford2110473028234
9Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds229582830-232
10Millwall217772118328
11Swansea CitySwansea227692424027
12Bristol City226972628-227
13Norwich CityNorwich226883734326
14Queens Park RangersQPR2251072328-525
15Luton TownLuton2274112538-1325
16Derby CountyDerby2266102728-124
17Coventry CityCoventry2266102834-624
18Preston North EndPreston2241172229-723
19Stoke CityStoke2257102330-722
20Portsmouth204882535-1020
21Hull City2247112131-1019
22Cardiff CityCardiff2146111934-1518
23Oxford UnitedOxford Utd2146112137-1618
24Plymouth ArgylePlymouth2146112245-2318


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!