Swansea welcome promotion-chasing Bournemouth to South Wales on Tuesday night for an intriguing Championship clash. Mark O’Haire previews the encounter.
“Remarkably, Swansea and Bournemouth have combined to keep 25 (41%) clean sheets in 61 Championship tussles this term”
Swansea shredded at Bramall Lane
Swansea were ruthlessly dispatched in a 4-0 thrashing at in-form Sheffield United on Saturday. Chief creator Morgan Gibbs-White ran riot against his former club and put the hosts ahead early on before the Blades doubled their advantage with an excellent finish and added a third before the interval. The rout was complete 12 minutes from time.
With Hannes Wolf rested as a precautionary measure due to a hamstring concern, Joel Latibeaudiere started at left wing-back while Olivier Ntcham came in for Michael Obafemi who was listed among the substitutes. Yet Russell Martin‘s men never appeared at the races and the Swans boss was left angered by costly mistakes early on at Bramall Lane.
Speaking post-match, Martin said: “I feel sorry for the fans. We made the same mistakes again. We started so poorly. The game’s over after 20 minutes. The gap between us at our best and our worst is far too big. A few details in the first 20 minutes in particular have totally cost us. The last 15 minutes of the first-half, the mentality was wrong.”
Bournemouth rested after postponment
Bournemouth saw Friday night’s scheduled clash with Nottingham Forest postponed due to safety concerns surrounding Storm Eunice. It gave Scott Parker’s side the weekend off with the Cherries’ most recent outing a come-from-behind 2-1 success at Blackpool 10 days ago.
Dom Solanke missed a penalty from Bournemouth’s only clear-cut chance. However, late strikes from Jamal Lowe and debutant Siriki Dembele snatched the three points as the Cherries clinched top honours from a losing position for the first time since the start of October, a feat Parker was keen to praise for his players for post-match.
The extra days rest should also aid a squad with plenty of injury and fitness issues. As many as seven players were rated doubtful or unavailable on Friday night with Gary Cahill, Ryan Christie, Kieffer Moore, Robbie Brady and Junior Stanislas sidelined. Ethan Laird and Adam Smith are back training but unlikely to be 100%, whilst Jefferson Lerma is suspended.
Swansea are winless in their last 10 league meetings with Bournemouth (W0-D3-L7), a run of results that dates back to the duos League One days in 2007. The Swans have also failed to even score in each of their most recent seven head-to-head skirmishes with the Cherries – City have never previously failed to score in eight in a row against an opponent.
Swansea 3.309/4 have picked up the bulk of their most positive results on home soil this season, posting W7-D4-L4 as hosts, and finding the back of the net in 10 of their past 11 league games at their Welsh base (W7-D1-L3). The hosts have also posted W4-D1-L2 when welcoming top-half teams, recording four clean sheets in that seven-game sample.
Bournemouth 2.3411/8 enjoyed a club-record unbeaten start to the season, avoiding defeat in their opening 15 fixtures. However, the Cherries stuttered thereafter before finding a degree of consistency again from Christmas; Scott Parker’s posse have pocketed top honours in five of their last seven and are the division’s best performing away side (W9-D4-L3).
Goals could be at a premium on Tuesday evening. Remarkably, Swansea and Bournemouth have combined to keep 25 (41%) clean sheets in 61 Championship tussles this term. Swansea have impressed defensively when taking on the league’s leading lights as hosts but the Swans have also fired blanks in five of their most recent seven outings at all venues.
Bournemouth have silenced 13 (43%) of their 30 opponents under Scott Parker and after a few wobbles, the Cherries’ defensive resilience has returned in recent weeks following key players returning. The visitors have conceded multiple goals on just seven occasions and seen Under 2.5 Goals 1.784/5 pay-out in seven of their most recent 12 league encounters.
With five of Swansea’s seven dates with top-half clubs featuring fewer than three goals, a repeat of Under 2.5 Goals appeals again.
Source: Betfair UK English Championship
