Swansea City vs. Liverpool – England Premier League Match Preview, Liberty Stadium, Swansea, Wales 3 PM EST Monday September 16, 2013
By Jason Green of Predictem.com
Match Odds: Swansea 3.50 / Liverpool 2.20 / Draw 3.50
Moneyline: Swansea +250 / Liverpool +250 / Draw +375
Over/Under: 2.5 goals
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Liverpool has got off to a great start in the England Premier League, as they sit in first place with 9 points after 3 wins in their first 3 matches. They have 3 1-0 wins in league play and while their offense has not really clicked they have yet to concede a goal in league play.
Swansea has not gotten off to a great start, as after 3 matches they have 1 win and 2 losses and sit in 16th place in the league table. No surprise that they lost their first 2 EPL matches facing Manchester United and Tottenham, but it was a bit of a surprise with them getting their first win of the season on the road facing West Bromwich.
The Reds can really jump out in the EPL race early, as they do not face a big club until the beginning of November when they play Arsenal on the road.
Swansea has a goal differential this season of -2 (scored 3 conceded 5), but had their best match of the season in their last one beating West Brom 2-0. In their 1-0 loss to Tottenham they gave up a penalty that should not have been called and they played solid D in that match as well.
Liverpool is playing great defense to start the EPL season and G Simon Mignolet has made 12 saves and has 3 clean sheets in 3 matches.
The Swansea defense was solid in the West Brom match and they will have to play especially well in this midfield in this match. Daniel Sturridge from Liverpool has all the goals for the Reds and the Swansea defense must key on him.
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The Reds have the strength of their attack on the wings and Swansea must be wary of that.
Liverpool plays a very aggressive style and so far on the season they have 88 tackles in 3 matches.
The Reds’ defense is a little banged up with Kolo Toure, Aly Cissokho and Glen Johnson, who is out for up to 10 weeks, all battling injuries. The loss of Johnson is a big one, as he is not only a solid defender, but also helped out on offense.
Last season at Swansea these 2 teams played to a scoreless draw. In that match the time of possession was even and Swansea needs to repeat that even though the Reds are stronger in the midfield.
Swansea will come out attacking and on the season 3 players have scored 1 goal each in Ben Davies, Pablo, and Wilfried Bony. Look for MF Jonjo Shelvey to have some extra motivation for this match after transferring from Liverpool. Swansea will be key to get first blood and will push forward early, but have to look out for the Liverpool counter attack.
Steven Gerrard should mark Shelvy and that will be a key match up. Each is solid at setting up the attack and that will be an important aspect of this match.
Both teams should be fresh for this match since they have not played in a couple of weeks with International World Cup qualifying matches last week.
Liverpool Recent Form
8/17/2013 Liverpool 1 Stoke City (Premier League)
8/24/2013 Aston Villa 0 Liverpool 1 (Premier League)
8/27/2013 Liverpool 4 Notts County 2 (Capital One Cup)
9/1 Liverpool 1 Manchester United (Premier League)
Swansea City Recent Form
9/17/2013 Swansea City 1 Manchester United 4 (Premier League)
8/22/2013 Swansea City 5 Petrolul Ploiesti 1 (Europa League)
8/25/2013 Tottenham Hotspur 1 Swansea City 0 (Premier League)
8/29/2013 Petrolul Ploiesti 2 Swansea City 1 (Europa League)
9/1/2013 West Bromwich Albion 0 Swansea City 2 (Premier League)
Jason’s Pick: The Reds are playing well, but Swansea is in good form and only a penalty have kept Swansea from having 2 clean sheets in their last 2 matches. I think that Swansea is the good pick at home in this match, as I look for them to upset Liverpool and had the Reds their first loss of the season.