please log in to view this image ............................................... please log in to view this image Barnsley................................... vs ...................... Swansea City Oakwell Barnsley Sat 07-01-12 15:00 PM KO For links to watch the game online, click HERE Welcome one and all to the match thread for the game between Barnsley and Swansea City. These teams are fairly familiar with each other, having spent the last few seasons plying their trade in the Championship, so there will be no illusions as to the task at hand for either team. The two sides last met on the 22nd of January last year at Oakwell where they played out a 1-1 draw, and roughly a month before that the Swans had won the opposing fixture 1-0 at the Liberty. The Match; In the league, Barnsley had been enjoying some impressive form but recently it's become a little more patchy. Remarkably, they're without a draw in their last 16 games so anyone expecting a replay may be disappointed come 5pm. They will be keen to avenge a 2-0 away defeat in a Yorkshire derby against Doncaster, but this will be cushioned slightly by the impressive 4-1 win over Leeds which preceded it. Swansea seem to have found some form and have looked much more of an attacking threat in the last two games, where Brendan Rodgers rotation policy was visibly vindicated. He's said we'll see some rotation but there is no doubt he will be putting out the side he feels best suited to the occasion, and one which he thinks can get the win. Barnsley Went down 2-0 at the Keepmoat last time out, so will be looking to get back to winning ways. They really have had some up and down form recently, with big wins coupled with big losses including an epic 5-3 reverse at home against Ipswich. The signing of S****horpe striker Chris Dagnall will hopefully give a boost and get the Tykes back on track, but will be unavailable for this fixture as he is cup-tied. Swansea made six changes before the Spurs game, 7 before the Villa game, and it's likely we'll see at least as many for this fixture. It's likely (if all the paperwork is tied up in time, which given the Swans track record is by no means a formality) that we'll see new signings Gylfi Sigurdsson and Darnel Situ as well as young Northern Irishman Rory Donnelly, who've all recently joined the club. Other players like Fede Bessone, Andrea Orlandi, Daniel Alfei and more may be looking at this fixture as a chance to get some minutes and force their way into the reckoning for the league. Prior Form; (most recent at top) Aston Villa 0 - 2 Swansea City Premier League Swansea City 1 -1 Tottenham Premier League Swansea City 1 -1 QPR Premier League Everton 1 - 0 Swansea City Premier League Newcastle Utd 0 - 0 Swansea City Premier League Doncaster Rovers 2 - 0 Barnsley Championship Barnsley 4 - 1 Leeds Championship Barnsley 1 - 3 Blackpool Championship West Ham 1 - 0 Barnsley Championship Barnsley 3 - 5 Ipswich Town Championship Team News Barnsley Jim O'Brien is out with with a stomach muscle problem, while Jacon Butterfield faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a cruciate injury. Danny Drinkwater has rejoined on loan for the rest of the season and will be looking to get some playing time against the Swans. Swansea Are almost back to full strength, especially if you take rumours of an impending return for Ferrie Bodde seriously. Alan Tate remains out but everyone else is available as far as I'm aware. Trivia; - "Courtesy" of Opta Completely guessed lineups; Barnsley Steele Hassell McEveley Foster Wiseman McNulty Drinkwater Done Perkins Davies Vaz Te Swansea City Tremmel Alfei Bessone Monk Williams Augustien Orlandi Sigurdsson Routledge Dyer Moore Key Battles; Ricardo Vaz Te vs Garry Monk I think Garry Monk is very likely to start to allow one of Ash Williams and Steven Caulker to rest, and his experience will perhaps be handy when you consider there's likely to be some players in the team who haven't played in a while. Having said that, Vaz Te is fast, and Garry Monk is not. This could prove an intriguing match up and if Monk picks up a yellow card early on I'd be very surprised if he ventures out of his penalty area for the rest of the game, such is the threat of Vaz Te getting in behind. Brendan Rodgers ahead of the game; Analysis; I'll be honest, the chances that Swansea will put out a team greatly differing from the one I've put above are highly likely, as predictable is one things our recent team selections haven't been! That, coupled with the very limited amount I've seen Barnsley play this year means I'm not really in a position to comment on individual matchups other than Barnsley's first choice centre forwards against our likely centre-backs. Darnel Situ, recently joined from Lens, can play CB too and there's a chance he could partner Monk, but I feel that could be ever so slightly risky and Buck mar err on the side of caution. If the Swans do rotate, they'll need any players coming into the team to play like Andrea Orlandi did against Villa. A solid, enterprising performance where he started solidly before impressing as the game went on. As I said, this will be a chance for players to impress and stake a claim for a first team spot, and this article wouldn't be complete with mention of Ferrie Bodde. The mercurial Dutchman has been on the sidelines for what seems like forever but club insiders and a growing minority of fans are confident we'll see him back playing soon. There are rumours (one coming from Ashley Williams) that he will be returning imminently, and some have said he's targeting the Barnsley game, and if his name is on the teamsheet this will no doubt please the travelling fans no end as he is a player held in the absolute highest esteem in South Wales. If the Swans play like we have been in the last few weeks, I have to fancy Swansea to win this one. Barnsley have to press us high up the field, and hope they can disrupt our passing game and cause confusion among players perhaps a little rusty from time on the sidelines. I feel, though, that the Swans recent good form coupled with a few positive signings will see us through this round of the FA Cup. Iechyd Da. Scott
tough game where we should play more fringe players due to the fact we cant afford to lose any key players with arsenal game coming up......survival in the premiership must be our top priority in our first season and maybe give the cup matches better thought next season.....
Think we might see that Lita , Moore combo again .. worked great against Fulham . Bessone , Williams Monk & Jazz . Agustien , Sig , Routledge , Butler .
Tom Butler tweeted a joke about John Terry yesterday, and I said "Careful, what happens if you start against Chelsea?". He said "The whole team would have to come down with the Ebola virus for that to happen..." Felt bad for the guy!
Rodgers says all the right things about cup competitions but I'm not convinced. He may prove me wrong but I'm expecting our reserves with literally a couple of first teamers, so I'll be surprised if Scott's guess is near the mark. We have big home games coming up and I can't see him risking the likes of Agustien or Dyer but you never know. Dobbie might get a start today and if so I hope he does the business. But as you say Scott, it's hard to guess our line-up these days. Rodgers may only start taking the competition seriously if we're down to the last 8. That's not a criticism, just an observation. He's right to prioritise the League.
PGF, i have had a squizz as a rule of thumb i watch all the games on site footballstreaming.info but didnt see anything to do with the swans at present if i do find any will post
Per the Post http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/S...y-FA-Cup-tie/story-14346494-detail/story.html the paperwork for Situ and Donnelly is not complete yet (WTF). So neither will be starting today. Echoing PGF, anybody got a link for today
Watching Brum v Wolves. Dorus is starting for Wolves. So happy he left so we had to go out and get somebody like Vorm - what a world of difference.
Links: Been pretty lucky this season with firstrowsports and wiziwig. Haven't got the full addresses but just type in your search engine and you should get it. If they are showing a stream you will find it in the menu. Failing that I shall be listening on Swansea Sound - usually very good commentary.
Tremmel.. Rangel , Williams , Monk Taylor ... Britton , Agustien , Orlandi , Routledge Dyer ... Graham ... looks like Buck is taking this serious
Serious indeed. Only exception to Villa other than Vorm is Caulker who is not even on the bench. Is Caulker injured or is he prevented from being cup- tied.
