A revitalised Swansea City team will attempt to continue their strong run of recent form when they welcome struggling Crystal Palace to the Liberty Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
The Swans have taken seven points from the last nine on offer, which has moved them out of the bottom three, but Palace will enter the match off the back of five successive league defeats.
Swansea
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A quick glance at the league table suggests that it has been a very disappointing season for Swansea, who were so impressive during the 2014-15 campaign. While that has been the case, the Welsh club do appear to have turned a corner in recent matches, with seven points from their last three league games moving them outside of the bottom three.
Garry Monk was relieved of his duties after a disappointing first half of the season, which led to Alan Curtis stepping into the managerial role on an interim basis. Curtis is still very much part of the decision-making at the Liberty Stadium, but it is new head coach Francesco Guidolin who has the final say. The 60-year-old's first game in charge ended in a 2-1 win at Everton, before the Welsh club secured a point at West Bromwich Albion during the week.
Swansea are still only five points clear of the bottom three, however, and have tough games against both Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal to come over the next month. The Swans have only lost one of their last nine league games against Palace, however, and have also lost just two of their previous eight in the Premier League overall, which is a sign of their improvement.
Guidolin also has players in form, with Gylfi Sigurdsson netting four goals in his last five games and Andre Ayew, who was a target for Sunderland in January, continuing to impress in the final third of the field. At the back, Ashley Williams has returned to somewhere near his best form and Leon Britton has thrived after the sale of Jonjo Shelvey to Newcastle United.
Finding the back of the net has been a problem this season, however, with the Welsh side only netting 23 goals in their 24 league matches, which is the second-worst total in the division behind basement outfit Aston Villa. The Swans have also suffered some heavy defeats at home this season, including fixtures against Arsenal, Manchester City, Leicester City and Sunderland.
Recent form: DLLWWD
Recent form (all competitions): LLLWWD
Palace
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Palace were just two points outside of the top four when these two teams met in London just after Christmas, but the capital side have really struggled for results over the last few weeks. Indeed, Alan Pardew's team will enter this match off the back of five successive league defeats, which has seen them slide into 12th position in the table.
It is also seven games since Palace last picked up all the points in a league match, with that occurring away to Stoke City on December 19. Back-to-back draws against Bournemouth and Swansea to complete 2015 were not disastrous at the time, but fast-forward a month or so and Palace are dangerously sliding down the table.
Their poor run of form has included defeats to Chelsea, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, while they will enter this match off the back of a 2-1 defeat at home to Bournemouth on Tuesday. There is no question that a number of injuries in the final third have harmed Pardew's side, but the supporters will also be concerned with the number of goals that they are shipping.
As mentioned, Palace also have a poor record against Swansea - winning just one of the last nine league meetings between the two teams. What's more, the London team have only scored three times in their last five Premier League games with the Welsh club and two of them have been from the penalty spot.
Emmanuel Adebayor has been signed to help a Palace team that have won just two points and scored just two goals in their last seven league matches, and the striker came off the bench to feature against Bournemouth last time out.
Worryingly for Palace, only four teams have lost more Premier League games this season and they are the four clubs that currently occupy the bottom four places. Pardew's side are still 10 points outside of the bottom three, however, and just three points off the top seven.
Recent form: DLLLLL
Recent form (all competitions): WLLLWL
Team News
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Swansea will be without the services of Ki Sung-yueng, who suffered a head injury against West Brom. However, Leroy Fer, who signed on loan from Queens Park Rangers on transfer deadline day, is in the squad and could start.
Fellow January signing Alberto Paloschi is also pushing for inclusion after impressing off the bench against the Baggies. Elsewhere, there are not expected to be too many changes as Guidolin looks for consistency in his team selection.
As for Palace, Pardew revealed on Thursday that James McArthur and Jason Puncheon are both facing extended periods on the sidelines with ankle and hamstring problems respectively. Yohan Cabaye, however, is back and should start.
Connor Wickham is still suspended and Yannick Bolasie still injured though, which could allow Adebayor to make his first start.
Swansea possible starting lineup:
Fabianski; Rangel, Fernandez, Williams, Taylor; Britton, Fer, Cork; Sigurdsson, Paloschi, Ayew
Palace possible starting lineup:
Hennessey; Ward, Dann, Delaney, Souare; Cabaye, Jedinak; Zaha, Mutch, Lee; Adebayor
Head To Head
Palace have a rotten record against Swansea - only winning one of their last nine league meetings and losing four times in the process.
Recent history points to few goals in Saturday's match, with only five scored in the last five games between the two teams. Earlier this season, the points were shared in a 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park, while it finished 1-1 at the Liberty last season.
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We say: Swansea 1-1 Palace
Swansea will fancy their chances of continuing their resurgence at a stadium where they have kept three clean sheets in their last four Premier League matches.
Pardew admitted during his pre-match press conference that "even a draw would be a good result" as Palace attempt to end their losing run and we are backing a share of the spoils in Wales this weekend.
Matt Law
