- Bafetimbi Gomis has nine goals in his last 11 Premier League matches
- Swansea has never beaten Everton in league play (20 matches)
- Everton has not conceded an away goal yet this season
Two teams sitting on an impressive eight points meet at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday looking to make a push into the top quarter of the table (Watch live, 10:00 a.m. ET on NBCSN and online via Live Extra).
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Swansea own a pair of wins and a draw at their home park while Everton have the same record away from home.
Everton had actually been much better on the road than in the friendly confines of Goodison Park, but the Toffees turned their home form around as well with a big 3-1 thrashing of Chelsea last week giving them a big jolt of confidence. On the flip side, the Swans come into this match having suffered their first defeat of the season at Vicarage Road last weekend to newly-promoted Watford.
For two teams that enjoy to hold the ball and work through the team to produce chances, the proceedings are sure to be tactically intriguing tomorrow morning. Both teams are nice and fit, with Swansea sporting a completely healthy squad.
What they’re saying:
Everton’s Martinez on Swansea’s manager: “I’m a big admirer of what Garry Monk has done. I don’t see another manager who has had such a big influence over the last three seasons – taking different roles, having to stabilise the team, giving them direction, and avoiding relegation. He then had a full season and achieved their best-ever finish in the Premier League, and is now following that with a really strong start to this season with different personnel – for me, it has been a very, very impressive job he has done.”
Swansea’s Garry Monk on moving on from loss: “We just didn’t execute it and there’s no excuses from our end. The players have responded well this week and hopefully we’ll get a reaction in the next game. We’ve been good at home this season and we want to continue that.”
Prediction
As mentioned earlier, these two teams love to dominate possession and flow through both the middle and wide areas. It will therefore be interesting to see who can maintain a firmer grip on the game. Everton looked stellar against Chelsea last weekend, while Swansea appeared sluggish for the first time all season. Neither result is a free pass or damnation for the season, but Monk is likely to shake things up and avoid repeating the result from last week. A draw is likely, as was the case in both meetings last year: 2-2.
