Swansea vs Chelsea: Match preview and predicted line-ups

By grvadmin

Premier League football is finally back after a two-week hiatus due to the international break, and there are some tasty fixtures in the offing. On Sunday, we have an excellent clash between unbeaten Chelsea taking on Swansea who are coming into this one on the back off two straight defeats.

Recent form

Chelsea are looking brilliant under the watchful eye of Antonio Conte at the moment. The Italian’s first match in charge went right down to the wire against local rivals West Ham, but since then, they’ve notched up wins against Watford and Burnley – and during their most recent game against the Clarets, they looked particularly impressive.

Swansea have gone the other way. Guidolin’s men looked super against Burnley, with Fernando Llorente getting a goal on his debut. Since then they’ve had to take a couple of tough losses to Hull City and Leicester respectively, and this game against Chelsea isn’t going to be easy either.

Predicted line-ups

Swansea City predicted Starting XI                                Chelsea predicted Starting XI

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Not much has changed on the line-up front really. Swansea City could hand a first start of the season to Neil Taylor who has been an ever-present for them since they made it into the Premier League. Gylfi Sigurdsson will continue as the #10, with the Spanish veteran Fernando Llorente leading the line.

Chelsea have added David Luiz and Marcos Alonso to the squad since their last outing, but the pair will have to settle for bench spots for now. Why change a winning formula? N’Golo Kante and Nemanja Matic look good in the middle of the park, and Cesar Azpilicueta won’t be easy to replace at left-back. Eden Hazard is in brilliant form, as is Diego Costa, who both start.

Suspensions and injuries

The home side aren’t doing badly on the injury front. Francesco Guidolin has pretty much a full complement to work with. The only issue they have is with their new record signing Borja Baston who is working his way back to fitness after a thigh injury. He’s rated as 50/50 to be able to play. Perhaps we’ll see him from off of the bench.

Chelsea themselves are looking alright regarding players on the treatment table, too. The only issue the blues have is Kurt Zouma, but he isn’t expected back for a few weeks yet after that horrific cruciate ligament injury he picked up against Manchester United. Diego Costa is extremely lucky to not have picked up a red card in a couple of matches so far – but he’s ready and available.

Our prediction

You just cannot look past a Chelsea win here. Conte’s men are playing some great stuff, with Eden Hazard in particular, looking like a real menace. Diego Costa is firing, and their defence looks pretty solid. Although Swansea have some talented players in their ranks, it’s going to be tough for them to upset the applecart here.

Featured Image: All rights reserved by Richard.