Gary Monk’s Swansea have been impressive this season so far and are just a point away from the top half of the table. They came back from a goal down at Villa park to snatch all three points. But in the last two games against Stoke and Tottenham have yielded just a point.
This Saturday, they will host an Arsenal side that are fresh from a 3-0 defeat against Sheffield Wednesday in the league cup. This article is a preview of this game along with the Team news, Predicted Line ups and Betting Odd’s.
The Swansea City vs Arsenal match will be played on Saturday the 31st of October at the Liberty Stadium. The kick-off is scheduled at 4:00 pm BST (8:30 pm IST)
Team News:
Swansea City’s manager Gary Monk will have an almost fully fit squad to choose from this weekend. Wayne Routledge is the only player on the injured list who will not be able to make this game.
Arsene Wenger has problems galore in the injury list. He is without as many as eight first team players for this game against Swansea. Arteta, Ospina, Wilshere, Welbeck and Rosicky are the long term injuries for the club. Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ramsey will also be unavailable for this clash.
Swansea will be high on confidence after a really good performance at Villa park in their last game. A Ayew looked un-playable at times and will pose a goal scoring threat every time the home team are on the attack. Arsenal played their first choice center backs in the game against Wednesday but conceded thrice and have looked shaky at the back.
Swansea should try and exploit this weakness and put pressure on the travelling team. But Arsenal have been really good in front of goal with the likes of Ozil and Sanchez along with Cazorla played with high intensity against Everton at home last weekend. None of those players were a part of the defeat in the League Cup and they will bring back the spark that was lost along with them when they start against Swansea.
Giroud has played some good cameos for the Gunners recently and will hope to continue his form and give Arsenal a result from this game. The center back pairing of the home side should do well to deny the striker.
Swansea have not been easy opponents for Arsene Wenegr’s side as they have not been able to beat the Welsh outfit in the last three meetings. Arsenal will not be at full strength and will be hoping to come out of this game with a result.
Expected Line-ups:
Swansea City:
Fabianski, Naughton, Fernandez, Williams, Taylor, Shelvey, Montero, Ayew, Sigurdsson, Gomis, Ki.
Arsenal:
Cech, Monreal, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Bellerin, Coquelin, Cazorla, Ozil, Sanchez, Giroud, Iwobi.
Prediction:
Arsenal have played some good football in the Premier League this season and look a really well tuned side. But the injuries have come at the wrong time for Wenger as the loss of players may just tinker with the momentum of the club. Swansea City may just be able to get a result out of this game at home.
Our Prediction:
Swansea City 2-2 Arsenal
Betting Odds:
Arsenal: 8/11
Draw: 3/1
Swansea City 21/5