Teams coming to the Liberty Stadium over the past few seasons have learnt that getting a goal is hard to come by and Swansea have continued that tradition into their Premier League tenure. No other team in the entire Football League have preserved the pristine record of zero goals conceded that the Swans have achieved at the Liberty however Bolton will be in high hopes to end that record. After a great start to the season, beating newly promoted QPR 4-0 at Loftus Road but points have been hard to come by since. Games against Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea have all come and gone for the club, unfortunately with no points gained, plus losses against teams like Norwich and Sunderland, at home, have not helped their case. Currently the Trotters are languishing in the relegation zone so Owen Coyle's men will be seeing the game in South Wales as a must win to kick start their season. The Swans on the other hand have, as mentioned, their sterling home record but it's debatable that they've not been truly tested at home yet. Similarly to Bolton, games against top teams such as Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and next week Liverpool have all been struck off the list of venues to visit but they have only hosted Wigan, Sunderland, West Brom and Stoke. Regardless of the quality of the opposition Swansea have faced, you can't deny the intimidating atmosphere of the Liberty Stadium which the team lap up to provide excellent performances. One other positive in the home sides favour is the return to form of record signing Danny Graham. The top scorer in the Championship last season has recently returned to scoring ways after breaking his duck against Stoke and has scored in every game since. The game does promise to be easy on the eye with both teams favouring a keep it on the ground style, especially the Swans who despite being in the maiden season have adapted like ducks to water. Coyle has also transformed Bolton into a more passing focused style despite being more of a route one club in the days of Megson and Allardyce.
Team News
Swansea have no new injury concerns since their previous draw against Wolves at Molineux but the existing injuries to Stephen Dobbie (ankle) and Alan Tate (broken leg) are still present. Kemy Agustien (hamstring) and Steven Caulker (knee) are close to recovery but will more than likely sit out this fixture. The fitness of captain Garry Monk is still not at 100% too so Vangelis Moras could make his first start for the club to partner Ashley Williams. Bolton manager Owen Coyle has stated that the team that plays on Saturday will be very similar to the team which were defeated by Arsenal at midweek. The team included former Swansea midfielder Darren Pratley and goalkeeper Adam Bogdan who will be making his first Premier League start since conceding 5 against Chelsea at the Reebok, however Dedryck Boyata will not feature after picking up an ankle injury that'll keep the on loan defender out for upto 6 weeks. As for other existing injuries, Sean Davis (knee) and Sam Ricketts (shin) are sidelined alongside long term absentees Stuart Holden (knee), Chung Yong-Lee (broken leg) and Tyrone Mears (broken leg).
Line-ups from;
Swansea (from): Vorm, Williams, Taylor, Britton, Graham, Sinclair, Dyer, Routledge, Monk, Lita, Moore, Bessone, Moreira, Rangel, Allen, Tremmel, Gower, Richards, Lucas, Moras. Bolton (from): Jaaskelainen, Wheater, Steinsson, Cahill, Knight, Eagles, Robinson, Muamba, Reo-Coker, Petrov, K Davies, Klasnic, Tuncay, Bogdan, Gardner, M Davies, Pratley, Ngog, Blake, Kakuta. Prediction 1-0 I can't see past Swansea maintaining their clean sheet record at their fortress in the Liberty but Bolton won't make it easy for them.