Bournemouth v Swansea - Match Preview
Friday, 11th Mar 2016 13:28 by Jack Argyle

16th placed Swansea City travel to the south coast this weekend to play Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.

The Cherries have surprised almost everyone this season and currently sit in an impressive 14th in the Premier League table, 11 points above the relegation zone. Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe deserves tremendous credit for the job he has been performing at Bournemouth. Bournemouth were the bookmakers favourites for relegation this year and many pundits suggested the team would drop straight back down to the Championship, due to the fact that Bournemouth would not change their attacking game plan when entering the Premier League. Early season injuries to Callum Wilson, Max Gradel and Tyrone Mings almost made some people’s minds up on Bournemouth getting relegated. Bournemouth have recorded some huge victories over some Premier League giants this year, victories include a 0-1 victory away at champions Chelsea and a 2-1 victory over Manchester United. More than half of Bournemouth’s goals at the Vitality Stadium this season have come from set-pieces (7). Bournemouth go into this game on the back of two consecutive league wins against Southampton and Newcastle. A win for Bournemouth could see them rise to 13th in the Premier League table.

Swansea City also go into this match on the back of two consecutive wins against Arsenal and Norwich City. Swansea now sit 9 points above the Premier League relegation zone and are just 2 points off Bournemouth in 14th. Swansea City will be looking towards the likes of joint top goal scorers Gylfi Sigurdsson and Andre Ayew. Sigurdsson was the match winner in the last fixture against Norwich and now has 8 league goals to his name this season. A win for Swansea could result in them rising above Bournemouth to 14th in the league table. One of the main talking points going into this game is whether Swansea City head coach Francesco Guidolin will be back in the dugout for the fixture or whether Swansea coach Alan Curtis will continue in the role. Curtis recorded back to back wins for the Swans against Arsenal and Norwich while Guidolin has been absent.

The last time these two teams met in the league was back in November and it resulted in Swansea City having to come from 2 goals down to draw the game 2-2.

Kick Off: Saturday 12th March 3:00pm
Venue: Vitality Stadium

Last Meeting: Swansea 2-2 AFC Bournemouth

Swansea’s Leading Scorers: Gylfi Sigurdsson/ Andre Ayew (8)
Bournemouth’s Leading Scorers: Junior Stanislas/ Callum Wilson (5)

Swansea City Team News

Swansea City midfielder Ki Sung-Yeung should be fit to return to the squad after recovering from a foot injury. Dutch midfielder Leroy Fer could come into the XI after a game changing impact from the bench last week against Norwich City.

AFC Bournemouth

Long term injury absentees Callum Wilson and Tyrone Mings are both still ruled out, while influential midfielder Harry Arter could return to the squad after a calf injury. Meanwhile winger Junior Stanislas is out for another 3 weeks with a hamstring injury.

Swansea City Players to Watch

Ashley Williams- Swansea’s skipper has been the driving force behind Swansea’s recent resurgence up the Premier League table. The skipper wears his heart on his sleeve and has made some crucial goal saving clearances and vital blocks to save his side. Not known for his goal scoring, Williams even grabbed the winner against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. Swansea can expect to be up against an attacking Eddie Howe side on Saturday and Williams could be key to keeping out this attacking Bournemouth side.

Leroy Fer- January signing Leroy Fer has not had too much game time since his loan move on transfer deadline day from QPR, but he followed up an impressive performance against Arsenal with an exquisite ball through to Gylfi Sigurdsson who grabbed the winning goal against Norwich. Fer showed a lot of qualities in a short space of time against Norwich. His strength and willingness to play the ball forward was key in helping the Swans to victory.

AFC Bournemouth Players to Watch

Charlie Daniels- English left-back Daniels has been a key figure in Eddie Howe’s team this season. Daniels willingness to bomb forward has rewarded Bournemouth dearly as Daniels is leading the clubs charts for most assists this season with 5. Daniels has also been in charge of penalty duties this season scoring 2 in the league this season. Daniels also grabbed the third goal in the 1-3 victory over Newcastle at St James Park.

Benik Afobe- January signing Afobe has proved to be a bargain for Bournemouth with 4 goals in 9 league games for the club. Although with only 1 league goal in his last 5 league matches, Afobe has proved that he can score goals in the Premier League. 2 of Afobe’s 4 league goals have come at the Vitality Stadium. Afobe has also scored vital goals against teams in and around the relegation zone such as Norwich and Sunderland.

Photo: Action Images

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