Swansea v Liverpool - Match Preview

Last updated : 12 September 2013 By Kurt Ellis

Thankfully, I am yet to hear any reports of injuries so I assume all our players have returned from international duty with a clean bill of health. The only doubt being Daniel Sturridge, though the reports I have read have all said he will be fit for our trip to Brendan Rodgers’ old club in Wales.

Swansea have two wins in their last five matches, but we should not be fooled into believing they are underperforming. They lost to Spurs and United. I doubt if they expected to get a point, let alone three. I recall watching the United game specifically and I thought for the first thirty minutes, they dominated the Mancs, but were hit with a two goal sucker punch. They were also unlucky to concede a penalty against Spurs. (And yet Suarez remains the poster boy for diving?). Swansea lost in the Europa league qualifier as well, but that was in the second league away with a 5-1 lead. Their last result against WBA was impressive though. A 2-0 win away from home, although WBA are not playing good football themselves at the moment. So I am a little uncertain as to just how good Swansea is at this moment.

So how do we beat them?

We have been eking out 1-0 wins based on the strength of our defence. However, of late our defence has been rattled with some injuries. First Kolo Toure, then Cissokho and now Johnson, who is out for up to 10 weeks. We are in trouble as I do not believe we have a suitable right back replacement. Martin Kelly has not been in the squad for far too long and Andre Wisdom has been disappointing when I have seen him, although he did look good in his cameo against United. But neither option offers the attacking threat of Johnson. This disruption to our defence is unfortunate.

Apart from the opening 30 minutes against Man United, Swansea have looked unimpressive this season. Michu in particular does not seem to have the same spark he had last season where everything he struck ended up in the back of the net. They have bought the one time rumoured Liverpool target Bony, but Laudrup doesn’t seem sure as to where to play him. I find it hard to believe that Laudrup will play with both players in his starting eleven, but if I does, I will be excited. We have the players and the ability to hurt teams on the counter attack and if Swansea are playing with an extra attacker, it means they will be a defender short.

I do however believe that Swansea’s most dangerous weapon on the day will be one Jonjo Shelvey. The very definition of inconsistent, you cannot however deny the fact that Shelvey is talented. And on his day he is a huge danger. Although he recently said he was not forced out of Anfield, we all know he will want to prove us wrong for ever letting him go.

Our Starting XI, formation and strategy

Mignolet, Wisdom, Skrtel, Agger, Enrique, Lucas, Gerrard, Henderson, Aspas, Coutinho, Sturridge.

Defensively, Wisdom should be solid. His weakness is that he will not be able to provide the extra attacking option that Johnson offered. Hendo should be played in front of him to offer him the extra cover, but to also provide our attacking width on the right. I believe our success this game will be dependent on the performance of The Spanish Bull at left back. If we go with Henderson playing specifically on the right to cover Wisdom, then Enrique will have to manage the left wing on his own. I personally believe he is up to it.  Gerrard and not Lucas should be given the duty of looking after Shelvey. Which young English midfielder will not be affected by being marked by a Legend of the English game?

This game will also be ideal for Aspas to find his feet in the Red shirt. Swansea should be playing attacking football and therefore allowing for spaces in the pitch where Aspas should exploit. There is no added pressure of playing in front of a home crowd and therefore, he should have the confidence and freedom to express himself. Extra space also means freedom for Coutinho to pull the strings, and all he needs to do is give Daniel Sturridge a sniff at goal. I think at this moment, any time Sturridge touches the ball, there is a chance of as goal. The goal against Stoke showed he had the confidence to shoot from outside the box. The goal against Villa was just an embarrassment of skill and talent and the goal against United showed that he has the movement and intelligence to escape markers.

This match will be tricky, as I am not too sure of Swansea’s form at the moment, but I know our form. And if we continue playing the way we started the season (minus the latter part of the games where we need to improve) it shouldn’t matter how good Swansea are, because we are better.

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