Swansea City will play host to Premier League Bournemouth in the EFL Cup this Tuesday, with Swansea looking to at long last impress on home turf and Bournemouth looking for their first away win of the season.
Key Takeaways
- Bournemouth have claimed just one point this season, albeit against now high-flying West Ham
- Swansea City are in the same boat, with just two points coming from a game against Midland’s club Coventry City and Birmingham City
- Both sides are also coming off the back of losses and will look to change their fortunes for their fans.
Neither side has gotten off to glittering starts this season and this will be an opportunity for either side to make an impact to get their season on the right track.
Swansea City Form
Swansea started the season brightly, defeating Northampton Town with a comfortable 3-0 victory and hopes were high, especially after an initial draw with Birmingham. Since then they lost a close-fought 3-2 battle with another Midlands club, West Bromwich Albion before the draw with Coventry, and then Preston saw them off despite Michael Duff’s Swansea dominating the ball.
Bournemouth Form
A good start to the season for Bournemouth looked to be on as they drew with Europa Conference League champions West Ham 1-1 in their opening fixture, but then successive losses to Premier League big boys Liverpool 3-1 and Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 mean that Bournemouth are without a win in their campaign this season.
Head-to-Head
Swansea’s hopes in this tie are not helped by the fact that they have a dismal recent record against Bournemouth, their last results last season were a 3-3 epic at home after a 4-0 drubbing away in the Championship last season.
One must look back to 12 fixtures ago, way back in 2007 when Swansea last claimed victory over the Dorset side, when both teams were languishing in League One.
Team News
Steven Benda and Liam Walsh will sit this one out for Swansea but other than those absentees, they will able to field a strong starting 11. Bournemouth, on the other hand, could blame part of their spluttering start to the season on their dreadful injury woes: Emilian Marcondes, Alex Scott, Adam Smith, Marcus Tavernier, Tyler Adams, Ryan Fredericks and Dango Outtara are all unable to feature.
Key Players
Bournemouth’s Keiffer Moore, who has a solid Championship scoring record with 38 goals against this level of opposition, will be one to watch, he missed out on the Spurs game but the Welsh international's sheer physical size is a force for any team to reckon with.
Creator Lweis Cook looks set to make a return to the starting 11 and he will be called upon to create the chances for his side to progress.
Swansea’s veteran defender Kyle Naughton will lead from the back, with his years as a Premier League player coming into play as he will have faced players of Bournemouth’s calibre and beyond in years past.
Final Thoughts
Both sides need a win to ensure a mid-season slump doesn’t begin to set in, expect Bournemouth to field a strong team as an early cup exit could yield awful result for team and supporter morale.
Championship