Chelsea travel to the Liberty Stadium as Antonio Conte aims to make it 4 wins in 4 for his new side. The Italian has settled in well in his new job and after completing a chunk of his business early on in the summer was able to start off the campaign with 3 wins on the bounce. He has looked to address the defensive frailties during the International break and has brought in David Luiz and Marcos Alonso. Swansea, on the other hand, will be looking to steady their ship after two consecutive losses. Though they started off well against Burnley, Francesco Guidolin’s side have failed to build on the win.
We take a brief look at the 3 key battles which will have a bearing on the end result at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday.
EDEN HAZARD VS KYLE NAUGHTON
Eden Hazard has reignited a part of the form which saw him being billed as the next superstar after the likes of Messi and Ronaldo. He tailed away miserably last season but has looked reborn under Conte this time around. He is looking like his old self who can turn the proceedings of a match on his own. He will be looking forward to facing Swansea and will look to be his usual menacing self, coming in from the left hand side. Naughton is guaranteed to have an extremely busy day and he has to bring his A-game in order to limit the damages which can potentially be caused by the little Belgian.
DIEGO COSTA VS JORDI AMAT & FEDERICO FERNANDEZ
Diego Costa has been buzzing since the start of this season. Though there were doubts regarding his future, Conte was determined to keep him. He has repaid the faith in dollops till now having rescued 3 points on twos occasion already. He will be in and around the way of the two central defenders on Sunday and with his familiar style, will look to get under their skin. Costa has to be given special attention and these are the kind of matches Swansea fans will miss their former Captain the most. But it will be an opportunity for one of them to step up and be counted.
FERNANDO LLORENTE VS JOHN TERRY
One of the many surprise signings of this year’s transfer window was Swansea’s capture of Llorente from Sevilla. The Spaniard was enticed by the opportunity to play in the English Premier League and Sunday is the kind of day he needs to perform to illustrate the reason Swansea forked out the cash for him. A proven striker, he has represented Spain at the senior level and will be looking to have a fresh start in the Premier League. He will certainly test the likes of Terry and Cahill on Sunday and Swansea’s hopes would be pinned on him to deliver.
