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By Justin Agtav
After three games without a win, Swansea City will be looking to return to their successful formula this weekend as they take on a struggling Newcastle side at the Liberty Stadium.
Immediately looking at the opposition and we can see that the Magpies have been pretty dire, with owner Mike Ashley reportedly saying before Newcastle’s 1-0 loss against Stoke City that Alan Pardew had one game to save his job.
While that may not have been the case, the side has picked up only three points so far this season and haven’t won a game yet. The pressure will be on for Pardew when they face one of the better teams in the Premier League this weekend, and a loss to Swansea could see him sacked.
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| The fans want him out! (Picture: SackPardew.com) |
Meanwhile the Swans - who are comfortably sitting in 5th place with three wins under their belt - are pretty strong at the moment and don't have that many injury concerns to deal with.
Jordi Amat and Leon Britton are both still sidelined, but it's no longer a certainty that either would be automatic starters anyway. The one area of concern is who will fill in at right back. Angel Rangel is suspended due to the red card he picked up against Sunderland, while his replacement Dwight Tiendalli is fighting to be fit. This means Jazz Richards could well start.
For Newcastle Siem de Jong, 18-year-old Rolando Aarons and Davide Santon are all injured. Aarons started this season impressively, while de Jong - who was supposed to be a superstar for Newcastle - is sidelined for several weeks. Pardew hasn’t received much luck this season on or off the field, and likely won’t receive any favours when they visit Swansea.
The Swans, playing at home, won’t be forced into having to soak up the pressure like they did in their last two games. This may allow them to concentrate on the attack. Wilfried Bony should start ahead of Gomis, who I think has been disappointing so far this season, while Jonjo Shelvey will be boosted by having received an England call up.
Jazz Richards starting at right back may be a slight concern, but I don’t think he will be tested too much as Swansea should be on the front foot for most of this match. Hopefully Gylfi Sigurdsson can return to his start of season form, and Dyer and Routledge can be spurred on by the fact that they unjustly missed a call up to the England squad and continue in their excellent form.
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Thanks to Justin for his preview. Meanwhile, my official prediction is... 1-1. Not sure why, but that's it. Otherwise Swansea will hammer them! Anyway remember to follow Forza Swansea on Twitter for updates.
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