Chelsea vs. Swansea City Preview; Battle For Top Of The Table

In a battle of the top two Premier League sides, and the only two to not yet lose a match this season, Swansea City travel to West London to take on Chelsea. Both clubs have looked impressive in their early season fixtures, and each will be looking to take maximum points from this encounter at Stamford Bridge.

Swansea manager Garry Monk, recently awarded Manager of the Month for August, took over as caretaker manager following the sacking of Michael Laudrup in February of this year. After a relatively successful end to the season which saw Swansea finish 12th, Monk has signed a three-year contract in May making him permanent manager. Swansea City have won all three opening matches, beating Manchester United 2-1 at Old Trafford on opening day, Burnley 1-0 and West Brom 3-0 both at home in the Liberty Stadium. Some might say that none of these teams is in particularly good form at the moment, and they would be right. United sit at 14th, West Brom 18th, and Burnley in dead last conceded 12 goals between them and all still yet to record a victory. However, it would be unfair to Swansea, and the intelligent tactics of Garry Monk, to not recognize how well they’ve begun their season.

Against West Brom, Monk had his men lined up in a familiar 4-2-3-1, attacking straight from the whistle and Swans controlled the key areas of the pitch without much difficulty. Icelandic Offseason acquisition Gylfi Sigurdsson, bought from Tottenham Hotspur in July to the tune of €10m, has made an immediate impact scoring once and providing four assists in his first three appearances. Another essential cog in Monk’s midfield is formerly on-loan player Ki Sung-yueng. The South Korean spent last season with Sunderland and what a part of the Black Cats’ squad which put an end to José Mourinho’s impressive home record at Stamford Bridge. Rounding out the central midfield is former Liverpool man Jonjo Shelvey, who has impressed many since his move to Wales.

Wingers Wayne Routledge and Nathan Dyer have shown a deadliness going forward that was rather lacking in last season’s campaign, notching several goals themselves while also providing quality service to frontman Wilfried Bony. In fact, Gary Monk named them among those he felt deserved to be called up by England manager Roy Hodgson. Still, I’m sure he won’t be too bothered, as both should be match fit for tomorrow’s clash in West London. Ivorian Wilfried Bony was linked with many a club, Premier League and otherwise, this offseason but has yet to get off the mark so far this year. He will definitely be looking to do so when his side travels to Stamford Bridge, this Saturday.

Swansea have quality players to come off the bench, as well. Former Lyon Striker Bafatembi Gomis, acquired on a free transfer this summer, leads the list of players likely to make an impact from the bench along with winger Jefferson Montero and on-loan central midfielder Tom Carroll. Where Swansea could be susceptible is in defense, particularly down the right side – one which will be occupied by Chelsea’s Eden Hazard. If Swansea wish to keep their winning form alive, defending well will be paramount.

For Mourinho’s men, consistency will be the business of the day. So far this season, Chelsea have defeated Burnley 3-1 away, Leicester City 2-0 at home, and Everton 6-3 away. Each has been an impressive showing, culminating in a very strong performance at Goodison Park prior to the international break. Last season, following a narrow 1-0 win against the Swans in December, Mourinho told PremierLeague.com: “We could not kill the game again. When you do not kill the game, you are always feeling the pressure.” This time around, José will hope to not have the same worries. This new-look Chelsea team will be hard-pressed to show they can handle such a test. Having done the work on the road in their last fixture, the Blues will be hoping to impress in front of their home fans.

Chelsea’s now familiar line-up will likely feature again, as new faces Diego Costa and Cesc Fàbregas are both expected to start, despite the former being bothered by a slight hamstring injury.* The two spaniards have settled well following their respective moves from Atlético Madrid and Barcelona – Costa notching four goals, Fàbregas four assists – and José will be relying on them to produce once again. Following an international break during which many of his players were active, Mourinho could make minor changes if there are any fitness worries. However, as of now, no announcement has been made concerning players who will not feature. Expect to see Nemanja Matic and Eden Hazard to make the starting XI, while Willian could start for André Schürrle on the right wing. That position will have plenty of competition, as former Basel man Mohamed Salah will also be looking to get minutes this season. Ramires, who started at Everton, will likely be moved back to the bench in favor of Oscar, who was rested against the Toffees.

In defense, Mourinho may go with the same back four he has come to trust over the past 12 months. Filipe Luis and César Azpilicueta were both called up by their respective national squads, but Azpilicueta has made the left back position his own since moving from Marseille in August of 2012 and it is doubtful that Luis would replace him if not for an injury scare. On the other side of defense, Branislav Ivanovic will start at right back after a most impressive first few weeks, notching two goals and an assist and cementing his place in the squad. The ever-present and consistent pairing of John Terry and Gary Cahill rounds out a miserly defense.

Chelsea’s schedule will soon begin to get more hectic as the fixtures pile up to include midweek matches, as well. Both the Capital One Cup and Champions League group stage are looming on the horizon, and this could very well be Mourinho’s chance to give a run out to players who haven’t seen much first-team time this year. *Löic Remy, who signed on the final day of the window and is itching to get a chance to impress at Stamford Bridge, may have the perfect occasion to make his debut. With Costa’s injury scare reported to have worsened while on international duty, it may be prudent for the Blues to rest their first-choice frontman and allow Remy and Drogba to have a go.

Swansea City and Chelsea played two tense, closely-contested matches last season, but the Blues won each fixture 1-0. Both teams have improved their squads, but Chelsea’s is notably more dynamic, especially in those players whom they can bring off the bench. One thing is likely: there will only be one undefeated team in the Premiership come Sunday. My prediction: Chelsea 3-1 Swansea.