Date: Sunday, 19 January 2014; Venue: Liberty Stadium, Swansea; Kickoff: 13:30 GMT Swansea host Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday searching for a first league win over the North Londoners since 1982. Hotspur have dropped just two points against the Swans in five Premier League meetings. Roberto Soldado's penalty kick was enough to win the reverse fixture earlier this season in August. Gareth Bale, who has since become the world's most expensive footballer, proved the difference between them in their last meeting at the Liberty Stadium. Michael Laudrup's Swansea have won just once in their last nine in all competitions. The form of Tottenham meanwhile is markedly better. Hotspur have four victories in the last six under head coach Tim Sherwood. A recent common denominator is wins at Old Trafford. Both teams raised their game when playing Premier League champions Manchester United. Spurs inflicted a damaging New Year's Day defeat on a ground where they have historically struggled. The Swans meanwhile earned their first ever victory there by knocking the Red Devils out the FA Cup.
Team News
Swansea's injury crisis thankfully looks to be abating. Number one Michel Vorm (knee operation), defender Dwight Tiendalli (hamstring), and wingers Nathan Dyer, Pablo Hernandez and Roland Lamah could all return. Laudrup will be without midfielders Jose Canas and Jonathan De Guzman, however, because of ankle problems. Michu is still out with a similar injury too. Tottenham centre backs Younes Kaboul and Jan Vertonghen meanwhile have returned to training, but will not figure in South Wales. Brazilian box-to-box star Paulinho remains missing with ankle ligament damage. Sherwood has better news concerning combative midfield player Sandro and wideman Andros Townsend though. Both could return from injury to play some part here. Source: BBC
Likely Line-Ups
Swansea: 1 Michel Vorm/25 Gerhard Tremmel, 22 Angel Rangel, 4 Chico Flores, 6 Ashley Williams, 33 Ben Davies, 7 Leon Britton, 8 Jonjo Shelvey, 11 Pablo Hernandez, 24 Alejandro Pozuelo, 15 Wayne Routledge, 10 Wilfried Bony 4-2-3-1 Spurs: 25 Hugo Lloris, 2 Kyle Walker, 20 Michael Dawson, 6 Vlad Chiriches, 3 Danny Rose, 7 Aaron Lennon/17 Andros Townsend, 30 Sandro, 19 Mousa Dembele, 23 Christian Eriksen, 10 Emmanuel Adebayor, 9 Roberto Soldado 4-4-2
Jamie Clark is a qualified Web Journalist after undergoing professional training at the University of Sheffield. A prolific and accredited sports writer, he also enjoys classic comedy, historic fiction, 80s music and heritage.
