Swansea City vs Chelsea Preview: Both sides in search for vital three points for very different reasons

Who will come out on top at the Liberty Stadium in a very important game for both sides?

Swansea City vs Chelsea Preview: Both sides in search for vital three points for very different reasons
brandon-sayer
By Brandon Sayer

Swansea City host Chelsea at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday evening in the Premier League with both sides needing the three points for very different reasons.

Swans need to win to pull further away from relegation zone

The Swans head into the game in 17th position, four points above the relegation zone, with four games to play and they really need the points this weekend to move further away from relegation.

Carlos Carvalhal though will have to get his side's spirits back up after they were on the end of a 5-0 defeat against Manchester City last weekend at the Etihad Stadium.

Even though the defeat came against the champions, it's still a big loss to be on the end of and they will be hoping they play much better this time round at home to Chelsea.

Blues looking to close gap to top four

It won't be an easy task for the Swans though as the Blues come into this game on the back of 2-0 win against Southampton last weekend in the semi-finals of the Emirates FA Cup at Wembley.

The goals were scored by Oliver Giroud and Álvaro Morata which has now set up a final against Manchester United.

Antonio Conte's side are also in good form in the league after defeating Southampton and Burnley away from home in their last two league games and really need the three points in the race for a top-four finish.

It's an important game for the Blues as they currently sit in fifth in the league, five points behind Tottenham Hotspur in fourth, and they need to keep winning with only four games to play as Champions League football is extremly important for the Blues.

Chelsea narrowly defeated the Swans earlier in the season

The game earlier in the season between the sides saw the Blues come out on top back in November with Antonio Rudiger scoring the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win in London.

Team News

The Swans are without a few players for the game due to injury. Wilfred Bony and Leroy Fer are both ruled out for the season with long-term injuries.

Renato Sanches is also still out with a hamstring injury, while Kyle Bartley and Federico Fernandez will undergo late fitness tests on knee injuries before the game against the Blues.

If both defenders are ruled out it would give Carvalhal a real selection headache when going to choose his defence for the game.

The Blues will be without Marcos Alonso for the game as he serves the final match of his three-game suspension.

David Luiz is also missing due to a knee injury and Conte revealed he doesn't know if the defender will play again this season.

Conte also confirmed that defender Gary Cahill will start again meaning that Andreas Christensen, who has had a really good season, will probably have to start the game on the bench once again.

The referee for the game at the Liberty Stadium is Jonathan Moss.