Swansea cannot lose against Norwich. Not if they want to battle for the automatic promotion spot. A win is vital.
With a full strength squad, this would usually be an easy outing, with three points almost certain on a smooth Liberty surface with a sell-out crowd spurring them on. However the loss against bottom of the league side Preston last week has asked some questions of the Swansea defence (“how could you let such a weak team pressurise you?”) and attack (“why could you not put away your chances?”). These questions must be answered by a convincing win over fellow promotion contenders Norwich.
Norwich, on good form, will be full of confidence after thrashing Scunthorpe 6-0 on Saturday. Can Swansea stop their decent run?
What results mean:
A win would probably see the Swans retain their 4th place spot, which is still a great place to be in considering a slightly bad run recently. If Cardiff lose or draw a win against Norwich would see the Swans leapfrog them to 3rd!
A draw would be better than a loss (duh!). If Cardiff lose Swansea would jump into third.
A loss would be terrible. Technically a loss could see the Swans drop to 6th place (if both Leeds and Reading win, thanks to goal difference), which would be one spot away from dropping out the play-offs. Not a good position to be in considering what happened last year.
So you can see: a good result against Norwich now means everything.
Betting on the game?
I honestly don't know these days. Swansea aren't the most predictable of teams at the moment. You don't know who will score at any point! As for score prediction, a 1-1 draw seems likely, though if Swansea really go for it 2-1 is also a high possibility.
This is the time to prove you have what it takes to get into the top tier once again. Don't let us down.
Showing posts with label Bite-size blog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bite-size blog. Show all posts
Friday 8 April 2011
Monday 7 March 2011
Bite-size Blog: Swansea vs Watford
Summing up the Scunthorpe match
On a pitch that looked very unplayable, it was the poorer side that got the luck. I guess, like many Swans fans have admitted, Alan Tate was due to give away a penalty after a couple of recent lucky escapes. Things even themselves out I guess! Definitely a blow to their confidence, but not to their promotion hopes. Many are talking about “bouncbackability” but I don't feel the Swans really need to “bounce back”. It's not like they have had a torrid run and need a big swing in luck to win tomorrow; it was just our old friend 'the blip'.
vs. Watford
I'm going to be careful here because whenever I say “I can't see the Swans walking away with less than three points”, I almost certainly get it wrong! But, as discussed, the Scunthorpe game was played on a poor pitch and away, so getting back to a beautifully kept Liberty Stadium, in front of a home crowd, the Swans will certainly be favourites to win the game against Watford.
Currently 12th in the Championship, The Hornets current form isn't spectacular. Though they beat Millwall on the weekend, they lost / drew the last five before that. Now being 12th in the table isn't much for them to get excited about, but in this very close league a win would take them to 53 points which is where Burnley are now, in 7th. With 12 games left to play, there is still plenty time for Watford to climb into the play-off places, so they will not want to lose this. I expect a low scoring game, with Watford defending as much as possible.
Then again, last time these two met was a thrilling (for all the wrong reasons) game (my report is worth reading again!), with the Swans claiming a 3-2 victory after almost gifting Watford a draw. However, Swansea have developed so much as a team since then, a repeat is unlikely.
Betting on the match?
If you have been following my predictions... sorry. I haven't been extremely reliable in the last few games have I? As I said, a low scoring game is what I am expecting so maybe a “under 2.5 goals” bet is worth while. Score? I am going for 1-0 to the Swans, with Moore or Sinclair to get the winner.
On a pitch that looked very unplayable, it was the poorer side that got the luck. I guess, like many Swans fans have admitted, Alan Tate was due to give away a penalty after a couple of recent lucky escapes. Things even themselves out I guess! Definitely a blow to their confidence, but not to their promotion hopes. Many are talking about “bouncbackability” but I don't feel the Swans really need to “bounce back”. It's not like they have had a torrid run and need a big swing in luck to win tomorrow; it was just our old friend 'the blip'.
vs. Watford
I'm going to be careful here because whenever I say “I can't see the Swans walking away with less than three points”, I almost certainly get it wrong! But, as discussed, the Scunthorpe game was played on a poor pitch and away, so getting back to a beautifully kept Liberty Stadium, in front of a home crowd, the Swans will certainly be favourites to win the game against Watford.
Currently 12th in the Championship, The Hornets current form isn't spectacular. Though they beat Millwall on the weekend, they lost / drew the last five before that. Now being 12th in the table isn't much for them to get excited about, but in this very close league a win would take them to 53 points which is where Burnley are now, in 7th. With 12 games left to play, there is still plenty time for Watford to climb into the play-off places, so they will not want to lose this. I expect a low scoring game, with Watford defending as much as possible.
Then again, last time these two met was a thrilling (for all the wrong reasons) game (my report is worth reading again!), with the Swans claiming a 3-2 victory after almost gifting Watford a draw. However, Swansea have developed so much as a team since then, a repeat is unlikely.
Betting on the match?
If you have been following my predictions... sorry. I haven't been extremely reliable in the last few games have I? As I said, a low scoring game is what I am expecting so maybe a “under 2.5 goals” bet is worth while. Score? I am going for 1-0 to the Swans, with Moore or Sinclair to get the winner.
Friday 11 February 2011
Bite-size Blog: Swansea vs. Middlesbrough
Even though the Cardiff game may still hurt a little, the Swans know a win tomorrow against Middlesbrough (3pm, Riverside Stadium) would cure any remaining derby hangover.
Boro are sitting in 19th position in the Championship table and are a team the Swans should beat if they plan to go on and achieve promotion glory. They may not be able to do the double over Cardiff, but Middlesbrough should prove an easier test. Doing the double over Middlesbrough, much like the South Wales derby last week, would also be making history as neither side has ever done the double over each other since they first met in 1925. It just doesn't have the same ring to it as "double over Cardiff" does. Never mind.
The starting eleven should pretty much be the same as that of the Cardiff match, but with Edgar replacing Richards in the back four. Elsewhere, Luke Moore needs a break. Not because he has worked too hard, but because he has done nothing for the squad recently. He is now officially a striker who does not score goals. This isn't unheard of with Swansea as most goals come from midfielders, but at least with Dobbie and Beattie they work hard and look like they want to score. Moore has recently looked lazy and slow, always two moves behind everyone else. I think a game where he isn't played would be wise, just to remind him that he will not always make the starting eleven unless he starts putting a little more effort in. Trust me, now I've said this he will go on to score three tomorrow!
Betting on the match?
Here are some odds for you to check out. Firstly, I was just joking with the Luke Moore hat-trick – I can't see him scoring that many this season, let alone in one game. The odds for this occurrence are 80/1, so I wouldn't waste your money. If you like big odds, I feel the usual “1-0 win to Swansea, with Pratley scoring the goal” is worth a pound, at 50/1. Ex-Swans loanee Marvin Emnes to score first is 13/2 and, knowing Swansea's luck, would also be worth putting a pound on (just in case)!
So this ends my first bite-size blog. Very brief wasn't it? Enjoy tomorrow's match, whether you're travelling up or sitting on the sofa avoiding the rugby. Swansea need this victory to get back in the race for automatic promotion, and maybe just a little to give the fans something to cheer for! So here's to three points (... to the Swans. Obviously)!
Boro are sitting in 19th position in the Championship table and are a team the Swans should beat if they plan to go on and achieve promotion glory. They may not be able to do the double over Cardiff, but Middlesbrough should prove an easier test. Doing the double over Middlesbrough, much like the South Wales derby last week, would also be making history as neither side has ever done the double over each other since they first met in 1925. It just doesn't have the same ring to it as "double over Cardiff" does. Never mind.
The starting eleven should pretty much be the same as that of the Cardiff match, but with Edgar replacing Richards in the back four. Elsewhere, Luke Moore needs a break. Not because he has worked too hard, but because he has done nothing for the squad recently. He is now officially a striker who does not score goals. This isn't unheard of with Swansea as most goals come from midfielders, but at least with Dobbie and Beattie they work hard and look like they want to score. Moore has recently looked lazy and slow, always two moves behind everyone else. I think a game where he isn't played would be wise, just to remind him that he will not always make the starting eleven unless he starts putting a little more effort in. Trust me, now I've said this he will go on to score three tomorrow!
Betting on the match?
Here are some odds for you to check out. Firstly, I was just joking with the Luke Moore hat-trick – I can't see him scoring that many this season, let alone in one game. The odds for this occurrence are 80/1, so I wouldn't waste your money. If you like big odds, I feel the usual “1-0 win to Swansea, with Pratley scoring the goal” is worth a pound, at 50/1. Ex-Swans loanee Marvin Emnes to score first is 13/2 and, knowing Swansea's luck, would also be worth putting a pound on (just in case)!
So this ends my first bite-size blog. Very brief wasn't it? Enjoy tomorrow's match, whether you're travelling up or sitting on the sofa avoiding the rugby. Swansea need this victory to get back in the race for automatic promotion, and maybe just a little to give the fans something to cheer for! So here's to three points (... to the Swans. Obviously)!
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