This weekend sees ninth place Swansea host East Londoners West Ham at the Liberty Stadium, as the Swans look to move level on points with the Hammers with victory. Having been beaten 3-1 in the capital last month, the Swans will be looking to reverse that result to push on up the league.
Key to Swansea taking all three points this weekend will be the hard working midfielder Ki Sung-Yeung. The Korean international, according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, has covered a squad best 220.75km this year. On top of this, the midfielder has also bagged three goals, and also racked up an impressive 50 tackles.
He will be more than adequately supported in the middle of the park by Icelandic international Gylfi Sigurdsson. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index can reveal that he has completed 597 passes with a completion rate of 85.65%. He will look to hurt West Ham with his distribution, and has proven himself more than capable in front of goal with four strikes this season. He is 13/5 to score anytime with 888sport.com.
Swansea will be hoping that they can keep West Ham at bay this weekend to help secure their third clean sheet in five games. Their number one shot stopper Lukasz Fabianski did not play in the reverse fixture when they shipped three goals, and has made 3.42 saves per goal conceded, as revealed by the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index.
West Ham will come into this game full of confidence, having already picked up three points against the league’s only Wales-based side. West Ham have been having a great season so far, but have unfortunately only managed one victory in their last five fixtures. Victory this weekend could however see them leapfrog fellow Londoners Tottenham, which should be inspiration enough for the Irons.
Stewart Downing has been in fantastic form all season for West Ham and has showed no signs of slowing up. The England midfielder has already scored four times this term and, according to the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index, has also completed a squad best 25 crosses which has helped him on his way to racking up seven assists.
One man who will thrive off this service is West Ham striker Andy Carroll. Carroll has converted three times already this season, turning 33% of his shots on target into goals. In addition to his ability to score goals, his hold up and link play are second to none and he will have midfielders playing off him who will help add to his two assists. He is 9/4 to score anytime with 888sport.com.
At the other end of the pitch, Aaron Creswell has been West Ham’s star man at the back so far this season, as demonstrated by the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index. The English left back is the only member of the West Ham squad to have played every minute of football for the Irons this season, scoring once and creating three further goals. He has won 68% of his 47 tackles this season, adding an impressive 81 blocks and 15 interceptions to that statistic. If he continues in the same vein, he will be a threat going forward and a rock at the back.