Liverpool vs Swansea Preview

Liverpool host struggling Swansea City on the back of an emphatic come from behind victory against Bordeaux in the Europa League. The Merseyside club currently sit in the 9th spot, 6 points adrift from the coveted 4th spot and will be keen to keep their recent fine form going. On the other hand, Gary Monk’s Swansea are enduring a tough period as they have garnered just 5 points out of a possible 18 in the last 6 outings and that has only resulted in increased speculation with regards to the managerial position at the Liberty Stadium.

Team News

Liverpool

The Reds will be without many of their critical players due to injury. While Ings, Gomez, Sakho and Flanagan recover from their injuries, club captain Henderson, Rossiter and Enrique have started training with the first squad and could feature in the month of December. The trials of Sturridge continue as he is believed to have sustained an injury in training and will most probably miss the fixture.

The club will also be without the services of the resurgent Lucas who serves a suspension.

Swansea City

Swansea, on the other hand, does not have injury concerns going into the game. However, former Liverpool man Jonjo Shelvey will miss the game due to a suspension. We expect Montero and Cork to make the starting line-up at the expense of Leon Britton and Wayne Routledge.

Key Players

Firmino

The Brazilian is finally showing the signs of his talent on a regular basis. He backed up his impressive outing against Manchester City with another decent performance against Bordeaux. The skillful midfielder can prove to be  a tricky player to handle for the struggling Swansea defence with his skill, pace and trickery. The Brazilian seems to be in sync with his attacking mates at the moment and with the likes of Coutinho, Ibe and Benteke gaining in confidence with every passing match day, the attacking prospects of this side look immense. Another thing that has impressed us about Firmino is the work he does in the middle of the park, making those crucial tackles, interceptions and presses to unsettle the opposition.

Andre Ayew

If there is one Swansea player who has impressed one and all with his performances, it is Andre Ayew. The Ghanian is currently the leading goal scorer at the Liberty stadium in the league with 6 goals apart from creating 12 goal scoring chances in 13 appearances. After being linked with the Merseyside club during the transfer window, he was snapped up by Swansea and would be keen to prove the hierarchy at Anfield that letting go off a decision to sign him wasn’t the best.

Ayew, who operates from the right, will look to get past the rejuvenated Moreno time and again to deliver the crucial balls to Eder. He has already shown his abilities with regards to finding his teammates in critical areas and we reckon if Moreno and Lovren afford him time and space, they could be in trouble.

Liverpool vs Swansea Preview Expected Line-Ups

Liverpool

Mignolet, Clyne, Skrtel, Lovren, Moreno, Can, Allen, Milner, Coutinho, Ibe and Firmino

Swansea City

Fabianski, Fernandez, Williams, Taylor, Naughton, Ki, Cork, Ayew, Siggurdson, Montero and Eder.

Prediction

The two sides have met on 36 occasions in the past, with Liverpool having won 16 compares to Swansea’s 8. In fact, Liverpool have lost to the Welsh side only once at Anfield. Jurgen Klopp’s side is beginning to look the deal with all-round improvement and we expect the side to run out 2-0 victors