September 1, 2012 10:00 AM EDT
Liberty Stadium — Swansea
Referee: R. East
Attendance: 20350
Premier League Preview: Swansea - Sunderland
New signings Pablo Hernandez and Adam Johnson could both feature on Saturday, as Michael Laudrup's men aim for three points to equal their longest winning streak in the top flight.
By Joe Wright
| PROBABLE LINEUPS |
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SWANSEA CITY
Vorm Rangel, Chico, Williams, Ranger De Guzman, Michu, Britton Dyer, Graham, Routledge |
SUNDERLAND
Mignolet Brown, Cuellar, Kilgallon, O'Shea McClean, Cattermole, Gardner, Johnson Sessegnon Fletcher |
Michael Laudrup is unlikely to tinker with a Swansea side which has taken maximum points from its opening two Premier League games without conceding a goal.
Scott Sinclair is likely to have completed a switch to champion Manchester City before Saturday afternoon, leaving Wayne Routledge and Nathan Dyer to continue out wide, with Danny Graham leading the line in attack. New signing Pablo Hernandez could well earn a place on the bench.
Martin O'Neill may well opt for a 4-5-1 system in a bid to stifle the Swans midfield, with Stephane Sessegnon, who has just penned a new three-year deal with the club, likely to start in behind Steven Fletcher. Adam Johnson could be in line to make his Premier League debut for the Black Cats, with Sebastian Larsson set for the bench.
Wes Brown (knee) and David Vaughan (hernia) will not be risked, while Phil Bardsley (ankle) remains sidelined until after the international break.
| DID YOU KNOW? |
Swansea has won its last three Premier League matches in a row, losing just one in seven.
- Midfielder Michu (pictured, right) has a perfect shots-to-goals ratio so far this season, having scored three times from three efforts on target.
- The Swans have scored eight goals from just 11 shots on target so far this season
- Despite the season being in its infancy, Michael Laudrup's side will equal its longest winning streak of last season with victory on Saturday.
- The Swans failed to score against the Black Cats in both matches last season - only three other sides managed to shut out the Welsh outfit.
- Sunderland is without a win in its last eight Premier League matches, failing to score in five of those.
- Martin O'Neill's side has only picked up 13 points in its last 15 games.
- Its 2-0 win over Swansea back in January was its only win over the Welsh side in eight attempts.
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
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Swansea City 2-1 Sunderland
- 18.29 %
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Swansea City 2-0 Sunderland
- 13.68 %
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Swansea City 3-0 Sunderland
- 9.57 %
| English Premier League (EPL) (EPL) | Jan 29, 2013 | Sunderland 0 - Swansea City 0 | |
| English Premier League (EPL) (EPL) | Sep 1, 2012 | Swansea City 2 - Sunderland 2 | |
| English Premier League (EPL) (EPL) | Jan 21, 2012 | Sunderland 2 - Swansea City 0 | |
| English Premier League (EPL) (EPL) | Aug 27, 2011 | Swansea City 0 - Sunderland 0 |
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| May 19, 2013 | Swansea City 0 - Fulham 3 | EPL |
| May 12, 2013 | Manchester United 2 - Swansea City 1 | EPL |
| May 7, 2013 | Wigan Athletic 2 - Swansea City 3 | EPL |
| May 4, 2013 | Swansea City 0 - Manchester City 0 | EPL |
| Apr 28, 2013 | Chelsea 2 - Swansea City 0 | EPL |
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| May 19, 2013 | Tottenham 1 - Sunderland 0 | EPL |
| May 12, 2013 | Sunderland 1 - Southampton 1 | EPL |
| May 6, 2013 | Sunderland 1 - Stoke 1 | EPL |
| Apr 29, 2013 | Aston Villa 6 - Sunderland 1 | EPL |
| Apr 20, 2013 | Sunderland 1 - Everton 0 | EPL |
| 1 | Michel Vorm | Goalkeeper |
| 3 | Neil Taylor | Defender |
| 4 | Chico | Defender |
| 6 | Ashley Williams | Defender |
| 22 | Ángel Rangel | Defender |
| 7 | Leon Britton | Midfielder |
| 9 | Michu | Midfielder |
| 12 | Nathan Dyer | Midfielder |
| 15 | Wayne Routledge | Midfielder |
| 20 | Jonathan De Guzmán | Midfielder |
| 10 | Danny Graham | Striker |
| 25 | Gerhard Tremmel | Goalkeeper |
| 5 | Alan Tate | Defender |
| 33 | Ben Davies | Defender |
| 24 | Sung-Yong Ki | Midfielder |
| 26 | Kemy Agustien | Midfielder |
| 17 | Itay Shechter | Striker |
| 19 | Luke Moore | Striker |
| 22 | Simon Mignolet | Goalkeeper |
| 16 | John O'Shea | Defender |
| 24 | Carlos Javier Cuéllar | Defender |
| 6 | Lee Cattermole | Midfielder |
| 7 | Sebastian Larsson | Midfielder |
| 8 | Craig Gardner | Midfielder |
| 14 | Jack Colback | Midfielder |
| 11 | Adam Johnson | Midfielder |
| 23 | James McClean | Midfielder |
| 28 | Stéphane Sessegnon | Midfielder |
| 26 | Steven Fletcher | Striker |
| 20 | Keiren Westwood | Goalkeeper |
| 27 | Matthew Kilgallon | Defender |
| 19 | Titus Bramble | Defender |
| 18 | David Meyler | Midfielder |
| 25 | Fraizer Campbell | Striker |
| 10 | Dong-Won Ji | Striker |
| 8 | Louis Saha | Striker |
