It will be interesting to see how Paul Clement lines up his Swansea City lineup, as they sit 5 points above the relegation zone and travel to London to take on league leaders, Chelsea FC. The Cardiff-based outfit will face numerous challenges, most notably cracking the 3-man defence of the Blues and stopping the counter attacks spelled by Eden Hazard, Diego Costa or the rejuvenated Pedro Rodriguez.
The Swansea full backs will have a tedious job on the pitch as the Chelsea wingbacks, Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses try and push their counterparts to the length of the pitch, hence setting Hazard and Pedro free to run riot on the opposition. Though Swansea City has managed to hold Chelsea to a 2-2 draw at the Liberty Stadium in Cardiff to a 2-2 draw, earlier in the season, Antonio Conte’s side have been merciless after shifting to the 3-4-3 formation.
A point is likely to make Paul Clement and his management team happy from an away match, given their priority is to save the Premier League spot, going into the next season. Let us take a look at how the Swansea side may line up against the league leaders this weekend.
PREDICTED SWANSEA CITY XI VS CHELSEA FC (4-2-3-1)
GOALKEEPER AND DEFENCE
Lukasz Fabianski will be between the sticks for the Cardiff-based outfit in Stamford Bridge and he will be supported by the youth-experience combo of Alfie Mawson and Federico Fernandez. The two fullbacks will be the 28-year-olds, Martin Olsson on the left and Kyle Naughton on the right. Clement will be hopeful that his defence is fully aware during Chelsea’s attack, as the Blues always commit 5 players in the attacking third with the ball, in hope of finding the back of the net.
MIDFIELD
The 2-man central defensive midfield is to neutralise the threats of Eden Hazard and Pedro Rodriguez, who run riot in the free space on offer in the other formations. Ki Sung-Yeung is likely to get another opportunity to impress as he will be partnering Jack Cork in the double pivot. Iceland International, Gylfi Sigurdsson is likely to play the role of linkman between the central midfield and attack. Leroy Fer is expected to start in the left wing, while Clement may opt for experience on the right in the form of Wayne Routledge over Nathan Dyer.
FORWARD
The Spanish striker, Fernando Llorente will be the lone target man for Swansea, and Clement will be hopeful that the Spaniard can carry his form to breach the Chelsea defence as well.
