Match Day Thread Swansea City 0 v 2 Hull City

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Swansea City v. Hull City

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Kick off 3:00pm
Saturday 20th August
Venue - The Liberty Stadium

Swansea opened their 2016/17 Premier League campaign with a 1-0 victory away at newly promoted Burnley, with Leroy Fer's late goal earning Swansea a deserved victory. The result means that the Swans have not last their last 8 PL games played in the month of August, winning 6 & drawing 2.

Hull marked their return to the top flight with a surprise 2-1 home win over champions Leicester City, thanks to goals from Diomande & Snodgrass.

The victory was all the more surprising given the Summer of turmoil experienced by the Tigers. With no Manager appointed to replace Steve Bruce, no new signings and talk of a possible takeover, it is hardly surprising that the a Tigers are most peoples' choice for an immediate return to the Championship.

The Swans have played Hull 71 times, winning 30 and losing 25, with 16 matches drawn.

It goes without saying that the most memorable - and important - match was the 4-2 victory at the Vetch Field on 3 May 2003, with the win retaining Swansea's status in the Football League.

Turning to Saturday's game, Swans fans will be hoping to have their first glimpse of record signing Borja Baston - Borja didn't travel to Burnley & reportedly watched the game live on TV in a friend's house in Swansea.

As for a prediction, I think that the Swans will build upon their opening day's success, and will beat Hull 3-1

 

Going for 2-0 on our first home game of the season

 

2-1 Siggy & Llorente

 

One at a time is good fishing ........1 - 0 Swans.
Might be a good time to insert Van Der Hoorn for this game .
Fernandez was listed as injured August 3 and am wondering if he is still feeling the effects of it .
Barrow moving from right to left wing will be a big plus as I think Riutledge plays better on the right.
Llorente is awesome ...period .
Montero is the " Perfect " super sub IMO .

Fab
Naughton , Van Der Horn , Amat , Taylor
Barrow , Cork , Siggy , Fer , Routledge
Llorente .

 

...............and here we are, 13 years later, in a top of the table clash in the Premier League

 

----------------------Fab-----------------------
Naughton , Fernandez , Amat , Kingsley
---------------------Fer------------------------
-----Barrow , Siggy , Ki , Montero-------
------------------Baston----------------------

Subs: Nordvelt, Cork, Routledge, Llorente, Van der Horn, Rangel

 

I think Baston will be on the bench on this game tbh, so the same but Llorente to start.

 

Another excellent match day thread.
I never tire of seeing that Hull video.
Martinez was awesome, and the hat trick hero should have had a statue erected in his honour.

Is Kingsley about to do to Taylor what Ben Davies did? This boy has serious potential.

 

We looked more solid at the back at Burnley, I dont know if it was me but it seemed that when there was a danger opportunity often the decision was taken to put the ball out of play for a throw in to remove the danger.

I cant see Hull scoring but they will be difficult to breakdown but here's hoping Baston gets a goal on his debut and Siggy to score from a Llorente assist. 2-0 to the Swans and a top of the table spot

 

0-0 all over it.

Although there will be a disallowed own goal.

 

Took me two reads to get the full meaning ..lol.
I've got a strange confidence about this team , can't put my finger on it .
Well actually I can , it's Guidolin's confidence leading into the season .
Guidolin is a very. , very expierenced manager.
And having Llorente and Baston has got me thinking we have as good a striker pair as most teams .

 

There certainly was a "no nonsense" approach yesterday. In the past we would always try and play out of a tight situation. Yesterday the ball was put straight out of play. Whether that is a good or a bad thing remains to be seen.

 

Off yesterday's display, I'd pick the following 11 for Hull:

GK - Fabianski - Fantastic game from the big pole at Burnley. Some incredible instinctual reactive saves.
RB - Naughton - Proving to be a very reliable member of the team, consistently putting himself in the right place and right time in defence and also supporting his winger too.
CB - Fernandez - Quite a few misplaced passes as we've been accustomed to, but generally a solid defensive display against Burnley. Ball out of play when needed (Ashley style), good in the air and strong in the tackle. Shame about his miss though...
CB - Amat - Another good game from Amat. They've both taken a leaf out of Ashley's book and are safe rather than sorry when turned towards their own goal. Took no nonsense from Burnley's big boys upfront - took a booking but worth it to ensure that they knew he was up to the physical challenge.
LB - Kingsley - Another assured showing at Turf Moor. Gets his head onto opposition crosses a lot, but also can get forward and whip in a serious, pacey cross too. His crossing is a definite upgrade on Taylor, and if he can consistently put in defensive displays like this too, Taylor is going to be looking for a move to keep his Welsh career alive.
LW - Barrow - So quick and tricky. He's got different pace to Montero - and while Montero tends to struggle first half against fresh legs, Mo is still quick enough to cause damage. Montero is working well coming on fresh at 45/60 minutes when his short-distance acceleration is most effective against tired and/or booked full backs.
RW - Routledge - Just a solid performer. Should've scored his volley against Burnley, but you know you'll get a 6 or 7 out of 10 most games with Routledge. Didn't do much wrong against Burnley and always carried a threat that Burnley felt required attention from their part.
CDM - Cork (C) and CM - Fer - A little anonymous against a side determined to miss out the midfield altogether - a lot of balls played over the top of Fer and Cork today and there wasn't much they could do about it. Both pussied out of a few tackles each (usually from knock-downs), but on bigger pitches against sides who want to keep the ball down, they are the two best options from a ball-playing and physical perspective.
CAM - Sigurdsson - Came on and looked a little rusty against Burnley, but still tested their keeper after winning and taking a direct free-kick. He was noticeably missed first half and his tenacity and willingness to chase lost causes shone through in wrestling the momentum back off Burnley in the 10 minutes leading up to our goal. First name on the team sheet for me, and after a solid week of training this week, he should have shaken off that rustiness by next Saturday.
ST - Llorente - I expect Llorente to start against Hull and we'll see Baston appear for the last 30 minutes. Llorente still looks a bit rusty from a finishing perspective, but good to see him holding up play and winning headers more often than not. Especially good that he stays on his feet unlike Gomis! A few silky skills shown too, and despite his missing a few tame headers, his one decent header did create the goal. He's going to LOVE playing with Montero...as, I predict, will Baston. Those floated crosses are meat and drink to these guys.

Prediction - 3-1. A solid display from the boys for their first home game will see us home here. Gylfi, Llorente and Baston to all get their seasons up and running.

 

They need him working on his cross everyday because once he perfects it, and fair play to the kid, he's not far off already, Llorente and Baston will get a sackful of goals.
Montero and Barrow look like they've been working hard on their crossing too.

 

That would be my line up on the basis i wouldn't have thought that Ki is ready to play more than 70mins atm so Fer would be an ideal replacement.

 

Good assessment BK. I also think Llorente will love those crosses from Barrow, Montero and Kingsley. Naughton can put the odd one in too. About time we played to our strengths, and with Baston and Siggy coming through the middle we are going to be a forbidable attacking force I think. At least on paper.

Can't see Hull hurting us. 2-0 Swans.

 

I noticed that. As they say, if in doubt, kick it out. We also looked far more secure at set pieces and when crosses went in.
Thought Amat recovered very well after his wobble early in the second half.

 

I noticed the blasting out of the ball too. We have always tried the clever-dever stuff in those situations and it doesn't always come off. A noticeable tactical change.

 

Amat's tackle was a real horror show. cringe worthy stuff.