So it’s back to a strange normality for Swansea City FC as they return to Premier League action with the visit of Sunderland to the Liberty, after a humbling at the hands of Shrewsbury, Swansea need a boost, and a result here would certainly be welcome.
So what are the five in this first of a regular article on EPL Index?
1) Danny Graham averaged a goal every 2.16 on target in the Watford colours last season if Graham is to replicate this kind of form in the Premier League he needs to score with his next shot, however 2 shots on target in 2 games isn’t the most productive of returns.
2) Michel Vorm has been a revelation and garnered praise from many and rightly so, the 1.5m signing from Utrecht has been widely praised for his shot stopping ability and that was certainly the case against Manchester City, however against Wigan; Vorm was dominant in smothering the threat from set pieces, from the seven corners Wigan won, Vorm caught five.
3) Swansea FC came away from 10 games without scoring last season, which is roughly 21.7% of games however Wigan was rare for a number reasons, Swansea City only participated in 3 scoreless games in regular season, the same amount of games that Swansea participated in which ended in a 4-0 scoreline. Last season Swansea also started the season with 3 losses in 5 games and the season before was even worse with one win in 5 games, so it’s not unique for Swansea to start slowly.
4) Scott Sinclair has had a hard start to the season, all 3 chances he had against Wigan were dragged off target which added to the solo shot against Manchester City. What is more important is when Sinclair scores Swansea win. In only one game in which Scott Sinclair score did Swansea lose last year. He has also been up when fighting for possession in the 22 duels in which he has fought for possession 62.8% have been victories, Sinclair will be vital with the goals but what he creates he usually finishes, so it is vital he is winning possession.
5) Finally most of what Sunderland and Swansea have created is largely from open play, the possession percentage for Sunderland averages at 45.5%, for Swansea it is 60.8%. Secondary the success rate in possession duels is 51.5% for Swansea and only 47% for Sunderland.  Finally and most importantly though Sunderland have had more shots than Swansea, only 28% have been on target to Swansea’s 38%.
