Prediction: Swansea City vs Arsenal

14th January 2012

High-flying Swansea will fancy their chances against Arsenal after recording the first Premier League victory on the road this season, which was followed by the FA Cup win over Barnsley. Arsenal recovered from the disappointing defeat to Fulham by beating Leeds in the FA Cup, courtesy of club icon Thierry Henry.

Swansea City have been showing a lot of promise from the very start to the season, but it was only recently that Brendan Rodgers’ side managed to turn their dominant displays into Premier League points. After beating Fulham at home and bringing one point from St James Park, the Swans did lose to Everton at Goodison, but they soon made amends by earning a credible draw against Tottenham, before beating Aston Villa 2:0 to record their first away win of the season. The 4:2 away win over Barnsley in the FA Cup served as another boost for the players’ confidence, so everything suggests that we can expect another strong performance from the newly promoted side. Having scored in every one of their last four games and boasting such attacking players as Danny Graham, Scott Sinclair and Nathan Dyer, Swansea should be able to continue the great scoring run against injury-plagued Arsenal. Michel Vorm, Scott Sinclair, Steven Caulker and Joe Allen are set to start after being rested against Barnsley, whereas new signing Gylfi Sigurdsson could start his first game for the club.

Arsenal’s top 4 chances suffered a real blow as the Gunners conceded two late goals in the 2:1 defeat to Fulham, but at least they managed to beat traditionally tough opponent that is Leeds United to make it through to the FA Cup 4th round. The best thing about the win was that Thierry Henry scored the winning goal with one of his trademark finishes, and everybody at the club is hoping that the Frenchman will be able to step up the plate now that Gervinho is away on African Cup of Nations duty. Another good news is the return of Johan Djourou from suspension, but now makeshift defender Francis Coquelin is sidelined, meaning that Wenger again has just five fit defenders. In spite of all the problems, the Gunners have no choice but to try and win this game, with dropped points by Tottenham and Liverpool giving Arsenal a chance to improve their position in the Premier League standings.

Conclusion

The fans at Liberty Stadium should witness an entertaining game between two attack-minded teams, which makes both teams to score the best choice here. Swansea are full of confidence after the win at Villa Park, whereas Arsenal desperately need three points from this match and that should be enough to guarantee us an open game on Sunday afternoon.

Verdict: Both teams to score

Best Odds: 10/11

Bookmakers: William Hill