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Swansea City.................... vs ....................Sunderland AFC
The Liberty Stadium
Swansea
Sat 27/8/11 3:00 PM KO
Referee Mark Halsey
For travel information to the stadium and ticket information, click HERE
Welcome one and all to the match thread for today's game against Sunderland. This is the first meeting of these sides in 28 years and both sides come into the game with goals on their mind.
Sunderland have a rich history, one which has seen them spend long periods of time occupying a spot in the top division. Shortly after forming they won four league titles around the turn of the century, and missed out on two more finishing second both times during a period of dominance in the emerging league system. Two more division one titles and two FA cups followed, but the latest major silverware (the latter of the FA cup wins) was delivered in 1973. The Swans have had but a brief flirtation with the upper echelons of the league pyramid. One spectacular rise (and subsequent, catastrophic fall) later, we had been in the doldrums kicking around for 30 years until we started to sneak our way back into the top division at a slightly more sedate pace than the mad dash in the eighties.
The Match;
Swansea City will come into this game smarting from a cupset against Shrewsbury Town midweek. The result was not the worrying part, as Brendan Rodgers was probably the most critical I've heard him in his time in charge at the Liberty, stating several players had âput their hands up to not be picked on Saturdayâ. Also, worryingly, the Swans goal on Tuesday night was an own goal, which makes it three games without a Swans player on the scoresheet...and while it's early doors to take that as an indication for the entire season, there will be a weight of expectation on the Swansea front line every time they get near the Sunderland area.
Sunderland, I think it's fair to say, are still coming together as a squad after a busy summer which saw boss Steve Bruce bring in a host of new faces, as well as seeing Jordan Henderson depart in a big money deal to Liverpool. In total, he brought in ten new players, and shipped out six, so it would be impressive for the team to hit form early given the upheaval in the squad. Much of the recent talk on the Swansea forum here has been about our lack of goals, and whether it is cause for concern. Having done a bit of reading I've seen Steve Bruce is still looking for another striker and is concerned about a lack of goals, despite only playing three games. Given Sunderland also suffered at the hands of lower league opposition in the League Cup on Tuesday night, they too will be looking to turn their fortunes around and secure three points.
Prior Form; (most recent at top)
Shrewsbury Town 3 â 1 Swansea City League Cup
Swansea City 0 â 0 Wigan Athletic Barclays Premier League
Manchester City 4 â 0 Swansea City Barclays Premier League
Brighton 1 (aet) 0 Sunderland League Cup
Sunderland 0 â 1 Newcastle Barclays Premier League
Liverpool 1 â 1 Sunderland Barclays Premier League
Team News;
For the Swans, Garry Monk continues his comeback from injury, but it remains to be seen whether he will be fit for Saturday, and even if fit there is debate as to whether he will displace Williams or Caulker at CB. Aside from that, the Swans have a fully fit squad to choose from (although âfully fitâ is another area for debate.
)For Sunderland, Phil Bardsley is available again after suspension, and John O'Shea is poised to make his debut after recovering from a hamstring problem. Frazer Campbell is out injured.
Trivia;
Starting lineups;
Swansea City
Vorm
Rangel
Taylor
Williams
Caulker
Britton
Augustien
Routledge
Sinclair
Dyer
Graham
Sunderland AFC
Mignolet
Bardsley
Brown
Ferdinand
O'Shea
Cattermole
Colback
Larsson
Gardner
Sessegnon
Gyan
Key Battles;
Williams/Caulker vs Gyan/Sessegnon
I'm struggling to look past this as the most intriguing aspect of the game. Against Manchester City, we faced a multi-million dollar all star team laden with galacticos, but in a good Sunderland team these two stand out for me as class acts. Gyan impressed hugely last season, except for if anything not being the most consistent performer, while Sessegnon continues to adjust with ease to the British game. Given the footballing nature of the Sunderland attackers, it's unlikely that we'll be dealing with a huge amount of lumped balls upfield, so Ash and Caulker will be watching them closely all game, tracking them as they hold the ball up, and they'll need to be careful to get back into position sufficiently early so as to not leave a gaping hole in midfield for someone to waltz into.
Analysis;
Sunderland make the long journey to South Wales hoping to bounce back from losing 1-0 at home to rivals Newcastle United, which was preceded by a highly creditable opening day draw away at Liverpool. Steve Bruce likes his teams to play combative, attacking football, so it remains to be seen if the Swans can maintain composure in the middle of the park. If they can, this could be crucial in deciding the outcome of the match. If Swansea can get the ball down and play, working the ball upfield with neat interplay, then we should get chances. If Sunderland interrupt us and steal a march on us in midfield early on, I do worry that given the physicality I have seen Sunderland play with in the past we will be overrun.
Having said that, results at the beginning of this season, and the tail end of last year, were not kind on Sunderland, so Brendan Rodgers and co will be hoping that they don't pick this match as the one to give them a kick start which helps them put a run of good performances together. Sunderland possess a squad laden with undoubted quality, and if they turn it on then they are a match for anyone in the league as they have shown by securing points against a host of big teams last year. A catalyst last year was Asamoah Gyan, and you feel if he plays well the team will play well. Steve Bruce could also choose to go with Connor Wickham, the multi million pound teenager, in a game which would be a fairly low risk
Swansea's problem thus far has been their inability to use their intricate passing to gain access to the penalty area, and it seems teams are already content to let us have the ball, and then watch us get tired before breaking at speed and catching us unawares. Brendan Rodgers will be looking to address this so expect to see a high tempo start to the game, where the fullbacks overlap allowing for even more link play between them, the wide men, and whoever occupies the two central attacking roles.
For Sunderland, Stephane Sessegnon is looking more and more like an inspired signing. Probably their biggest threat against Newcastle, he has played recently in a role off the main striker, not unlike the role that Dobbie plays a lot for the Swans. Another area Steve Bruce will no doubt have told his charges to exploit is set pieces... or any time the ball is in the air for that matter. The diminutive stature of a lot of the Swansea team combined with the loaded gun of Seb Larsson's set pieces mean Michel Vorm, Ashley Williams, Steven Caulker et al will need to be on top of their game if they want to secure another clean sheet at âfortress Libertyâ.
Brendan Rodgers before the game on goals;
Steve Bruce before the game;
Scottswan's famously biased and ill-fated prediction;
Swansea City 2 - 1 Sunderland AFC
Safe journey to all those travelling, and good luck to Sunderland for the coming season. I don't think you'll struggle this season, once your new signings bed in I firmly believe you'll be fighting it out for upper mid-table. I've always had a lot of time for the teams from the North East (including your mates down the road, sorry!) and I think a lot of similarities between the North East and South Wales can be drawn from recent history, so I think there should be a lot of mutual respect between the two opposing sets of fans. I'm assuming that there'll be a sizeable group of Mackems travelling down, so safe travelling to all involved.
Scott
) than in all of Wales!