Prediction: Swansea vs West Ham

Verdict: Swansea to Win

Best Odds: 6/4

Bookmakers: Bet 365

Struggling Swansea welcome relegation rivals West Ham to the Liberty Stadium for a crucial match in the race to avoid the drop. The Swans currently sit in the relegation zone, but are level on points with the two teams above them, and trail West Ham by just three points. The Hammers are one of a number of teams in danger of being dragged into a serious relegation battle, and will be looking for a positive result here to help avoid that scenario.

Swansea 

The Swans have been a confusing team this season. They started off in diabolically bad form with just two wins in their first 15 games of the season, but they have been an incredibly successful side under new manager Carlos Carvalhal.

The coach has led Swansea to just one defeat in their last 12 games across all competitions, and their 4-1 loss at Brighton was an outlier in a patch of good for. With wins over Arsenal and Liverpool in the league, as well as progression to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup will give the Welsh side a lot of confidence going forward, and they really do need to start ascending the table.

Carvalhal’s side currently sit 18^th, meaning that they are firmly in the grips of a relegation battle, but they are actually just three points off 13^th spot, which is the position that their opponents West Ham currently occupy. With 21 goals across their last 11 games, the Swans are primed to win this game, and it will bring them an incredibly valuable three points at this stage of the season.

Team News

Angel Rangel has a groin injury that will keep him out until the end of March, while Leroy Fer’s Achilles issue also sees the midfielder side-lined.

Elsewhere Renato Sanches has a hamstring problem and will miss this game, while Wilfried Bony is out for the long term with an ankle injury.

West Ham

With Manchester City having all but wrapped up the league title with frightening ease this season, the real interest comes from the relegation fight, and West Ham are certainly not out of the forest despite sitting in 13^th spot in the table. The Hammers are just three points above the drop zone and have been in incredibly inconsistent form for almost the entire season.

Their last ten games provides a neat cross-section of West Ham’s season. Three wins, four draws and three defeats couldn’t really get much more erratic, and the on-paper quality of their opposition seems to make little difference given their defeat to Wigan and draw against Tottenham. Add to that three clean sheets, two occasions on which they have failed to score, two games in which they have scored multiple goals and two in which they have conceded three or more goals, and you get a team that whose results are incredibly tricky to predict.

With such an inconsistent team then it is often better to look at their opposition, and Swansea have been in much more reliably good form in recent weeks. I trust the Swans to get the job done more than I trust West Ham to come away with any sort of positive result here.

Team News

In defence Arthur Masuaku is suspended and thus ineligible for this game, while Patrice Evra’s leg injury means he will face a late fitness test.

Pedro Obiang and Edimilson Fernandes have knee and ankle issues respectively, and will both miss out, while Andy Carroll also won’t feature due to an ankle injury.

Key Factors to Consider

• Swansea have lost just one of their last 12 games in all competitions.
• The Swans have also scored 21 times across that same stretch of games.
• West Ham have won just once in their last six games across all competitions.
• The Hammers have also conceded 11 times during that same spell of matches.
• The last meeting between these sides ended in a 1-0 win for West Ham back in September.

Conclusion

Despite losing their last league games, Swansea have been a vastly improved side under Carlos Carvalhal, and they will be fired up for this relegation six-pointer. West Ham meanwhile have been struggling all season, but find themselves in a particularly bad patch of form heading into this game. The Swans should take it, but likely by a narrow margin.

Verdict: Swansea to Win

Best Odds: 6/4

Bookmakers: Bet 365