This will surely be one of the most exciting matches of the weekend. In Swansea v Arsenal you have two teams that enjoy playing attractive attacking soccer.
In their head to head matchups Arsenal do have the upper hand having won three with Swansea winning two and one draw in their 6 games played. This includes last year’s FA Cup Round Three 2-2 draw followed by Arsenal’s 1-0 win in the replay.Arsenal enter Saturday’s match in first place with 12 points having scored eleven and allowed six. Swansea are in ninth with seven points. They have scored seven and allowed seven.
What to expect from the Match
Possession-oriented football!!!
This match will see two of the best passing teams in England – arguable the two best – match up against one another, and it will be the control of the midfield area of the pitch that will be particularly important. Arsenal will hope the likes of Ozil, Wilshere, Ramsey and Cazorla can assert a large influence over proceedings, while another interesting sub-plot will be the performance of Michu; rumored to be a transfer target for the Gunners in the summer, and possibly still one now.
The betting for this particular fixture is about as close as it gets. This reflects the fact that Swansea are no pushover at the Liberty Stadium, and have begun the season pretty well under Michael Laudrup, despite a difficult run of fixtures. Thus, there is no clear favorite among the three options for this match, although form would suggest that the Gunners must be reckoned to be in with a reasonable chance of winning, given that the club is into double figures in terms of consecutive away wins.
Swansea have won 25%, drawn 45% and lost 30% of their last 20 home games, having kept a clean sheet in 20% and failing to score in 30% of those games.Arsenal have won 60%, drawn 20% and lost 20% of their last 20 away games, having kept a clean sheet in 40% and failing to score in 10% of those games.
Players to watch out for
Michu(Swansea):All eyes will be on the Spaniard once again as the Swans will look to take points off the Gunners. He scored in the match against Liverpool, and will look to do the same against the north London side.
MesutOzil(Arsenal):SantiCazorla’s absence has barely been felt by Arsenal, such has been the impact of their record buy. He is already making waves in the assists charts, and will surely be at the top come the end of the season. The German international’s creative abilities will be put to the test against Swansea if Arsenal are to leave with three points.
Predicted Starting line ups
Swansea: The Swans have no major injury concerns apart from Pablo Hernandez. Swansea may well decide to field an unchanged lineup from the one that won against Crystal Palace last weekend.
Arsenal:Arsenal on the other hand have a host of players out injured- Cazorla, Podolski, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott, Rosicky, Diaby and Sanogo. With Ozil, Ramsey and Giroud in great form, expect Arsenal to put in a good case for the three points.
Predictions
Swansea have caused Arsenal problems in the past, and I can see them picking up a point here. They’re one team that have the capability to keep the ball away from Arsenal, and I’m thus going to tip them to pick up a draw here.
Swansea 1-1 Arsenal