The two teams in the Premier League yet to drop any points, Chelsea and Swansea City, go head-to-head at Stamford Bridge when action resumes after the international break, with both teams hoping to extend their 3 match win streak.
Both teams are coming off big wins their last time out, with Swansea crushing West Brom 3-0 and an uncharacteristically attacking Chelsea running riot at Goodison Park, scoring 6 goals to Everton’s 3. Jose Mourinho’s team are still hot favorites for the title after their purchase of Loic Remy, but garry Monk’s fairly solid Swansea side have proved a tough nut to crack in recent times.
Previous Encounter
Chelsea defeated Swansea City in last season’s league match away at the Liberty Stadium by a scoreline of 1-0. Demba Ba scored the only goal that afternoon in the 68th minute.
Team News
Eden Hazard and Diego Costa have both picked up knocks while on international duty and are doubtful for the clash against the Swans. Chelsea will be hoping that it’s nothing too serious; however, their strength in depth can more than cover for a couple of absences this week.
Leon Britton, Marvin Emmes and Rory Donnelly are all unavailable for Swansea.
Interesting Facts
- Chelsea have won four and lost none of their five previous Barclays Premier League meetings with Swansea.
- Swansea conceded twice as many goals as Chelsea last season, letting in 54 goals to end with the season with a goal difference of exactly 0.
- Only Swansea (8) benefited from more own goals than Liverpool in the Premier League last season.
- The teams first met in November 1925, with Chelsea beating then-named Swansea Town 4-0 in League Division 2.
Key Men
Chelsea – Andre Schürrle
Andre Schurrle could be in line to make his first start of this Premier League season if the injury to Eden Hazard rules him out of the Saturday afternoon clash. Willian is usually the one to play alongside Oscar and Hazard behind a striker when available, and he looks set to start again with Schurrle on the wing replacing Hazard. Schurrle will need to be at his best however, given the scintillating start to the season that the opposition wingers Wayne Routledge and Nathan Dyer have enjoyed. Both Matic and Fabregas will face a tough test in Bony and Gylfi Sigurdsson, so Jose Mourinho will need Willian and Schurrle to track back often to double up on the opposition with their respective full-backs. His pace on the flanks if unleashed by a killer Cesc Fabregas pass can cause Angel Rangel some serious problems, so Chelsea will look to him to recreate some of his excellent World Cup form come matchday.
Swansea – Nathan Dyer
Swansea’s 26-year old winger Dyer has absolutely flown out of the blocks these first few weeks, racing to second in the scoring charts with 3 goals from as many games (Chelsea’s Costa leads the way with 4). Dyer’s speed on the break can be a constant menace to Cezar Azpilicueta, but if the Chelsea full-back can keep his wits about him, he can effectively neutralize the threat the Englishman poses. Dyer is yet to create a goalscoring opportunity this season and since he’s unlikely to get to many shooting opportunities against a miserly Chelsea defense, his link-up play with Sigurdsson and Bony will be crucial to Swansea’s push to maintain their 100% run.
Projected Starting XIs
Chelsea: 4-2-3-1: Courtois – Ivanovic,Cahill,Terry,Azpilicueta – Matic,Fabregas – Willian,Oscar,Schurrle – Remy.
Swansea: 4-2-3-1:  Fabianski – Rangel,Amat,Williams,Taylor – Ki,Shelvey – Dyer,Sigurdsson,Routledge-Bony
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Prediction
It’s always interesting when the two form teams in the division go head-to-head, but home advantage and a star-studded lineup should see Chelsea home, maybe not as comfortably as in previous encounters.
