Swansea City face Bournemouth this evening in a sky bet championship game at the swansea.com stadium. The cherries are looking for a win to cement themselves firmly in to second position in the league and automatic promotion. The swans play their penultimate home game of the season looking to break the sixty point barrier for the season so far.
Bournemouth manager Scott Parker isn’t relishing the game, you would think from his pre match chats with the press he would rather be anywhere but Swansea tonight. "They have a real identity about them and the way they play. Russell Martin has done a very good job there. It’s going to bring many difficulties for us going to their place because they have a real identity about them in the way they play. They’ll want to dominate the ball and it can stress you and cause you problems”
Maybe Parker can draw some reassurance from the the fact Middlesbrough boss Chris Wilder managed to counteract Swansea City’s play on Saturday to earn a 1-1 draw in a game that could have gone either way. Parker knows this game is crucial, it’s one of the cherries two in hand on closest rivals for promotion Huddersfield Town.
The swans have no real issues bar Olivier Ntcham who is obeying Ramadan which won’t end until the evening of this coming Sunday. He will most likely start on the bench and feature in the second half if required. Aside that Flynn Downes is looking to end the season on a high and is already looking forward the early start next time around. An in form Michael Obafemi now on eleven goals is looking to add to his tally and believes he can hit fifteen for the season come Saturday week.
Scott Parker doesn’t sound entirely happy facing the swans this evening
Russell Martin who has led the swans on an unbeaten run over the past eight games seems to be enjoying the end of season run in. He is more than aware of the strength of the cherries side who have spent a lot of money to get them where they are at present. "If you look at the squad they have built, the financial power they have — as well as having a manager who has done it (promotion) before then they are a challenge. They have players who have experience of playing in the top division and with experience of getting promoted. They are an athletic and powerful team that can win games in different ways. They have strength at the top end of the pitch and have conceded the fewest goals in the league, so it’s a big test. But it’s a great challenge and one to really look forward to. All we ask of the guys is to run as hard as they can for each other and be brave and courageous with the ball. Hopefully that will be the mentality, because if we do that we have a chance.”
It’s the final night game of the season for Swansea City under the lights with a kick off scheduled for 7.45pm. Home tickets are still available for the game.