Swansea City square off against Burnley on Saturday afternoon looking to respond to suffering their first league defeat of the season in midweek. At a time when Swansea sit in third position in the Championship table , the winless Clarets are in 23rd place. Match preview Prior to facing Southampton on Tuesday, Swansea boss Vitor Matos talked up the importance of maintaining the best defensive record in the division. However, after conceding just once in five matches, Swansea would lose 3-1 to the Saints on away territory.
Results elsewhere mean that the Welsh outfit remain in third position in the standings, just two points behind leaders West Bromwich Albion. That will ultimately lead to Matos choosing not to over-react to the setback on the South coast, yet he will have concerns over Swansea’s performance at home. Despite three consecutive clean sheets, two of their matches – against Sheffield United and Wrexham – have ended in goalless draws, with six of their eight goals this season being scored on their travels. © Imago / News Images
Matos is likely to be encouraged by Burnley having failed to keep a clean sheet in the Championship. Thirteen goals have been conceded in six matches, yet it has gone under the radar that the Clarets have also scored in each of those encounters. Furthermore, there are signs of progress with 1-1 draws being earned against Middlesbrough and Wrexham in two of their last three games, the other ending in a 2-1 defeat to Bristol City. Although Burnley have not registered a win in open play across eight games under Nicky Hayen, the Belgian will feel that a first success is not far away at a time when his side only sit four points adrift of 13th-placed Southampton.
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© Imago / Gribaudi
Matos will make a number of changes to his Swansea XI having rotated his team for the game at Southampton. Josh Key, Melker Widell, Stephen Eustaquio, Eom Ji-sung and Adam Idah could all return to the starting lineup. Despite his goal at St Mary’s, Zan Vipotnik could drop down to the substitutes’ bench. With Aaron Ramsey suffering an injury in the Wrexham game, Armando Broja may return down the middle of the attack, which would lead to Zeki Amdouni being used out wide.
Although Jamie Vardy is available to make his debut after serving a one-match ban, the veteran forward will be named on the substitutes’ bench at best. Loanee Dastan Satpaev has returned to parent club Chelsea for treatment on a hamstring injury. Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Vigouroux; Key, Lisseh, Welsh, Tymon; Widell, Fulton, Eustaquio; Yeo, Idah, Eom
Burnley possible starting lineup:
Weiss; Sonne, Walker, Julio, Roberts; Raghouber, Alleyne; Amdouni, Laurent, Ramazani; Broja
We say: Swansea City 1-2 Burnley Although Burnley have the worst defence in the division, the point earned at Wrexham may act as a catalyst for an upturn in fortunes. With Swansea also needing to react to losing at Southampton, the door feels ajar for the visitors to record a statement win. For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
