Swansea City make the trip north to play Sunderland in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon with the opportunity to move one step closer to safety.
For much of the season it looked as though Swansea were going to be heading down to the Championship but they have somehow managed to scramble out of the bottom three with just two matches remaining.
Safety is now in their own hands and wins from their final two games would be enough to see them remain in the Premier League.
Sunderland have known their fate for some time and this will be their final match in-front of their own fans this season. Can David Moyes rally his players to produce a good performance and give the fans something to cheer about at the Stadium of Light?
Sunderland vs. Swansea
Premier League – Saturday 13th May 2017 – 8:00pm
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Draw Best Odd of: 7/1 at Ladbrokes |
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Sunderland
SwanseaSunderland Form
Sunderland have won only 3 of their previous 23 matches in all competitions and with form like that, it’s little wonder they were relegated long before the end of the season.
The victory over Hull City last weekend was their first win in 11 Premier League games and fans of the Black Cats will wonder why they have waited until relegation was confirmed before picking up this win.
Scoring goals has been a real problem for Sunderland in recent weeks and they have failed to score a goal in 9 of their last 11 Premier League games. Only Middlesbrough have scored less goals than Sunderland this season and they have also been relegated.
Swansea Form
Swansea have won 2 and drawn 1 of their last 3 Premier League games and have found a bit of form at the crucial time.
Paul Clement’s team have recorded home wins over Stoke City and Everton and produced an excellent display in holding Manchester United to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford. These results will have given the Swansea players a huge boost of confidence heading into this match but their away form has been nothing to shout about this season.
In fact, Swansea have won just 2 of their previous 18 away matches in all competitions and you must go back to their 3-2 win at Liverpool in January to find their last success on the road. Clement would like nothing more than a repeat of the performance which got them that result at Anfield.
Team News
Sunderland are still without several players because of injury and will miss Paddy McNair, Duncan Watmore, Jan Kirchhoff and Bryan Oviedo. There are also doubts over Steven Pienaar, Lee Cattermole and Darron Gibson.
Swansea must make do without Wayne Routledge, Nathan Dyer and Jefferson Montero, leaving them light in wide areas. With Angel Rangel also injured, Clement is unlikely to make many changes from the team which beat Everton last week.
Top Betting Tips: Can Swansea Take a Huge Step Towards Safety?
Sunderland have failed to score in 6 of their last 7 home Premier League games. Swansea will look at this and believe they can win the game while keeping a clean sheet. You can get 12/5 with Ladbrokes for Swansea to win the game to nil.
If the Black Cats are to pick anything up from this match, it’s most likely to be a draw, as they have drawn 4 and lost 5 of their last 9 home Premier League games. Ladbrokes offer 14/5 for the match to end level.
Expanding on the draw bet, 50% of those draws have seen over 2.5 goals and if Sunderland do manage to find the back of the net, Swansea will have to come out and attack. This could make for an exciting game and the draw and over 2.5 goals is on offer at 10/1 with Coral.