Premier League preview: Aston Villa v Swansea

Swansea City will hope to win a point in their trip to meet Aston Villa for the first time in their history, when the two sides meet on Monday.

The Welsh outfit have lost all seven encounters at Villa Park stadium dating back to 1936 and have not even scored a goal in the process.

And while Swansea have impressed in their first ever English Premier League season, their away record will give Villa further confidence of producing a result.

Brendan Rodgers’ side have made nine road trips in the league this season, resulting in three draws and six losses.

Villa’s home form has not been much better, however, and in their last seven matches in front of their fans, they have lost five.

But it will be Alex McLeish’s men that bring the form into the clash, having produced a sensational 3-1 win at Chelsea on Saturday.

Goals from Stephen Ireland, Stiliyan Petrov and Darren Bent sealed the win that could provide a launching pad for 2012.

After a disappointing start to his career at Villa, Ireland was particularly impressive against Chelsea, with his work off the ball applying pressure almost as good as what he did with it.

The likes of Shay Given (hamstring), Emile Heskey (Achilles), Chris Herd (ankle) and Eric Lichaj (hip) are still sidelined for the 1982 European Cup winners, but they will head into the match with plenty of confidence.

Swansea also gained a good result in their last fixture, with Scott Sinclair’s 84th-minute equaliser enough to give them a point in a 1-1 draw against third-placed Tottenham.

Despite the late nature of Swansea’s goal, they fully deserved a point and again proved they belong in the top-flight with an exciting display of football.

Alan Tate (leg) and Ferrie Bodde (knee) are both long-term absentees, but Swansea have more than enough about them to break the long-standing record.