Preview: Brighton v Swans
Swansea City look to continue their revival under Carlos Carvalhal when they take on Brighton this weekend.
The Swans have revenge on their minds as they make their first ever visit to the Amex Stadium having lost to the Seagulls on their own patch back in November.
Carvalhal’s men travel in confident mood, having lost only one of their 12 games since the Portuguese was appointed at the end of December.
The Swans have not been beaten on their travels since they were hammered 5-0 at Liverpool on Boxing Day.
Since then, there have been away draws at Newcastle and Leicester – plus Wolves, Notts County and Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup – as well as that memorable last-gasp triumph over Watford.
Now Carvalhal goes in search of his second victory on the road – but nothing will come easy against Brighton.
Having won promotion to the Premier League for the first time last summer, Chris Hughton’s team have enjoyed a solid season so far.
They have not lost in five games coming into this one – with five points from three league outings in that sequence as well as two cup victories – and will be desperate to complete a season’s double over the Swans.
The South Coast club are currently one point and two places better off than the Swans in the Premier League table.
Team news
Brighton do not have many injury concerns, although veteran midfielder Steve Sidwell and on-loan Chelsea youngster Izzy Brown are out of action.
The Swans believe Alfie Mawson will be fit to feature despite the knee problem which ruled him out of last weekend’s FA Cup tie at Sheffield Wednesday, while Leon Britton is back in training but is unlikely to be involved today.
Angel Rangel, Renato Sanches, Leroy Fer and Wilfried Bony all remain on the injured list, but Andre Ayew and Andy King are available having been ineligible for the Owls clash.
What they said
Brighton striker Leonardo Ulloa: “Swansea are in good form and they’ve picked up results over the last month or so. They’ve won against big teams and will be confident – so we must give our best and we know it won’t be easy.”
Martin Olsson: “Brighton is another big game but we are focused. We feel we can come away with something and that’s what we are trying to do in every game we play.”
Last six meetings
4.11.17 Swans 0 Brighton 1
11.8.09 Swans 3 Brighton 0
3.5.08 Brighton 0 Swans 1
8.1.08 Swans 1 Brighton 0
29.9.07 Swans 0 Brighton 0
21.4.07 Swans 2 Brighton 1
Pre-match stats
1 – With Rangel injured, there is likely to be only one player on either side this weekend who featured in the Swans’ last game at Brighton, when they lifted the League One trophy back in 2008. That player is Brighton forward Glenn Murray, who is in his second stint with the Seagulls after spells with Crystal Palace, Reading and Bournemouth.
8 – Both the Swans and Brighton have managed eight top-flight clean sheets this season, which is more than 11 other Premier League clubs.
