Chelsea

Chelsea vs Swansea: Preview, Injury News & Predicted Teams

by
chelseafc
September 23, 2011

Chelsea and Swansea meet for the first time in top flight football. Our previous nine seasons together came in the old Division Two.

Chelsea vs Swansea; a game which many (I guess all) Chelsea fans are looking up-to. The reason?? We all saw how well we played against Manchester United and the 3-1 loss doesn’t showcase the skill and commitment the players showed on the field and this game will surely provide all the action we are looking for.

AVB fielded a young side against Fulham in the Carling Cup giving rest to all key players, but all of them would definitely return for this game for sure. We need to continue where we left off and continue with the same impressive football we displayed at Old Trafford. And if we do that then we are in for some treat…

Swansea on the other hand got their first win of the 2011-12 EPL campaign by beating West Brom 3-0 at home, a day which saw all promoted clubs secure three points. Swansea’s defence has been exceptionally after suffering a 4-0 loss against Man City in their opening game and have conceded only one goal (against Arsenal at Emirates) in their remaining four fixtures.

The opposite has been their attack which couldn’t score even a single goal in their first four matches but they made up for that by scoring three against West Brom last weekend. Brendan Rodgers has a good side at his aide but will find it really difficult to handle a rejuvenated Chelsea attack.

Chelsea Team News

AVB looks set to recall his first team squad after being rested for the Carling Cup game in mid-week. Petr Cech and Daniel Sturridge who were part of the Carling Cup game were substituted after both suffering minor injuries.

Cech got a minor blow on his head while defending a ball but was substituted for precautionary measures and has a very good chance of starting the game. Daniel Sturridge took a knock to his lower leg as Kelly challenged him for the ball and was soon replaced before half time, and might miss out on the game against Swansea.

Dider Drogba has been declared fit and was on the bench for the Fulham game and could start alongside Torres for this game. Alex is suspended for one match after his dismissal against Fulham in the Carling Cup. Michael Essien is our only long term absentee.

Swansea Team News

Steven Caulker (Knee injury), Alan Tate (Broken leg), Kemy Agustein (Hamstring injury), Craig Beattie (Ankle injury) and Danny Graham (Back injury) are likely to miss the game, although Neil Taylor who suffered from a head injury could still feature. This game will see former Chelsea player Scott Sinclair feature against us for the first time.

Probable Team Line-ups:

Chelsea (4-4-2): Petr Cech, Bosingwa, David Luiz, John Terry, Ashely Cole, Ramires, Juan Mata, Raul Meireles, Frank Lampard, Fernando Torres, Didier Drogba.

Swansea (4-5-1): Vorm, Angel Rangel, Ashley Williams, Garry Monk, Neil Taylor, Nathan Dyer, Leon Britton, Joe Allen, Mark Gower, Scott Sinclair, Leroy Lita.

A game of THREE POINTS… This is not something which only I am saying…AVB had made this clear after the game against Manchester United that Chelsea will be targeting a win and three points against Swansea this Saturday.

I feel AVB said this to show that Chelsea are up for it, for us its winning and three points that matter the most and when you play good football this is what you will get. He also made it clear (by stating this) that Chelsea wont be complacent against the newly promoted Swansea side.

Torres (baring that miss) had an excellent game against Manchester United. He already had showed glimpses of him getting back into his game against Bayer Leverkusen where he provided assists for both Chelsea goals.

Torres was brilliantly played in by Anelka but the finish from Torres was world class. He looked sharp especially in the second half and had some good chances to score another goal for Chelsea. People talk about his miss but they forget how easily he made a fool out of De Gea when he rounded him off brilliantly. For me its the pressure and anxiety that got to him at that moment, he knew he had an open net to score but a usual Torres would calmly slot it home.

Chelsea’s midfield in the form of Meireles, Mata and Ramires is looking really good and will prove key to Chelsea’s success this season. Defensively we always have been a good side but any lapse in concentration will lead to a goal, this is something we have got to learn (Smalling’s goal against us proved this point).

Swansea are no less of a good team, yes they haven’t scored many goals (except the last game) but they haven’t conceded much (baring their first game). And with strikers like Leroy Lita now in thier side they can provide a decent threat as well.

This game welcomes our ex-Chelsea youngster Scott Sinclair who had joined Swansea from Chelsea and is proving to be one of their key players this season.