Chelsea could only draw at Anfield on Saturday as their grip on the Premier League title slips a little bit more each week. They host a Swansea City side who remain one from bottom in the table and in deep relegation trouble.
The home side have won eight of their 13 league games this season and suffered three defeats, just two less than they suffered in the Premier League last term. Two home games have been lost already but the last five home league games have only seen them concede on three occasions.
There’s a big gap between Chelsea and league leaders Manchester City and with them still having to go to the Etihad, it’s difficult to see them getting close to them. They are still in the Carabao Cup and qualified for the last sixteen of the Champions League in midweek, but club owner Roman Abramovich tends to expect more than that from his many managers.
They do have players in form though and should be able to get three points from this game. Willian has scored three goals in his last two matches and Eden Hazard appears to be back to his best after being injured earlier in the season. The last four home league and cup games have seen Chelsea find the net on ten occasions and although their opponents tend not to concede too many goals, there will be plenty of chances created by Chelsea in this match.
Swansea would kill for an Eden Hazard in their midfield but would probably sell him if they did. The loss of Gylfi Sigurðsson and Fernando Llorente in the summer has hit the Welsh side hard and another defeat here could see Paul Clement become the latest Premier League boss to lose his job.
The weekend saw them held to a goalless draw at home by Bournemouth and they remain one from bottom in the table, though only two points from safety. At least the point ended a run of five straight league and cup defeats. 13 Premier League games have only seen Swansea score seven goals, less than any other team in the league but have only conceded 15 times.
Six away league games have produced five points with their only win at Crystal Palace. Just three goals scored though and only Crystal Palace have managed less. On the plus side though, they’ve only conceded five away league goals and only Manchester City have conceded fewer.
A lot of their goal-scoring hopes rest on the young shoulders of Tammy Abraham. He didn’t get on the pitch until the 84th minute against Bournemouth but that’s more than he’ll do in this match. Currently on loan from Chelsea, he can’t play against his parent club so that’s another big blow for the Welsh side. Only four other Swansea players have scored for them this season in the Premier League and that list doesn’t include the returning Wilfried Bony.
Conclusion
Stamford Bridge isn’t quite the fortress it used to be, but Chelsea should be able to get another home win in this game against Swansea City. The home side had to come from behind to get a point against Liverpool at the weekend, but this is the right time to be taking on Swansea. The away side lack confidence and without Tammy Abraham must be wondering where the goals are going to come from with just one in their last four away matches. Chelsea can win this to nil.
The Key Stats
Last Five Premier League Results – Most recent first
Chelsea – DWWWW
Swansea City – DLLLL
Head to Head – Last Five League Meetings
25/02/17 – Chelsea 3 Swansea City 1
11/09/16 – Swansea City 2 Chelsea 2
09/04/16 – Swansea City 1 Chelsea 0
08/08/15 – Chelsea 2 Swansea City 2
17/01/15 – Swansea City 0 Chelsea 5
- Chelsea have only lost one of their last 14 league games against Swansea City
- Chelsea last lost a home league game to Swansea in 1925 and are unbeaten in 14 games since then.
- Chelsea are undefeated in their last five Premier League games winning four of them.
- Swansea City have failed to score in their last three league games and are without their top scorer for this match.
- Five of the six Swansea City away league games this season have had under 2.5 goals scored in them.
- Swansea City have lost their last three away league games.
- Swansea City have only won two of their last 14 away league games.