TALKING TACTICS: Swans v Norwich City
5th March
Ahead of today's game against Norwich City, we have teamed up with football stats experts WhoScored.com to preview the Premier League encounter.
Confidence will be sky high in the camp following Wednesday's 2-1 win over Arsenal, with the Swans securing back-to-back victories at the Emirates in the Premier League.
Back on home turf against a disappointing Norwich side, Swansea have what it takes to make it back-to-back wins in their bid to haul themselves up the table.
No team has conceded more league goals than the Canaries (53) this season, while only Aston Villa (six) and Newcastle (seven) have won fewer points away from home than Norwich (eight) so far. The Canaries' current five-game losing streak away from home is also the second longest in England's top tier, with all signs pointing towards a Swansea win.
For that to happen, though, the Swans need their January arrival Alberto Paloschi to fire on all cylinders.
The former Chievo striker may have struggled in his first two league starts, but showcased his quality when handed the opportunity to do so in the 2-1 defeat to Spurs last weekend.
Paloschi was on hand to capitalise on a defensive mishap at the back to fire past Hugo Lloris to send Swansea into the lead. Only Lukasz Fabianski (9.79) gained a better WhoScored.com rating than Paloschi (7.44) of all Swansea players at White Hart Lane.
While an unused substitute at the Emirates in midweek, the 26-year-old should be fresh to help put a lacklustre Norwich defence to the sword.
Having developed a statistically-calculated WhoScored.com strength of 'finishing', Paloschi boasts the goal-scoring capability to find a way past the Norwich defence.
Given five of the Canaries' WhoScored.com weaknesses focus on defending, the disappointing backline could be in for a long afternoon this weekend if Paloschi repeats his performance against Spurs.
Cameroon international Sebastien Bassong is expected to be the man tasked with limiting Paloschi's influence in the final third. The 29-year-old is currently the club's joint-second highest-rated player, though he has gained a WhoScored.com rating of just 6.80.
Having played in all but two of Norwich's Premier League games this season, Bassong's defensive credentials have been questioned at times and they will likely be put to the test once more at the Liberty Stadium.
The Italian striker may still need time to adjust fully to the rigours of English football, but the welcome of Norwich provides him with the perfect opportunity to add to his opening goal in English football.
Provided the opportunities are created for Paloschi, he's primed to fire Swansea to all three points on Saturday.
*WhoScored.com is a unique website and one of the fastest growing in the sports industry, specialising in the in-depth analysis of detailed football data. Provided with unique stats, they compile and create comprehensive analysis on the major European divisions, including live match stats and player ratings. You can follow @WhoScored and their editorial assistant Ben McAleer on Twitter.
