Swansea City vs Tottenham Hotspur. Premier League.
Swansea.com StadiumAttendance20,855.
Wednesday 5 April 2017 18:46, UK
Mauricio Pochettino faces a shortage of options in central midfield as Tottenham travel to Swansea in the Premier League on Wednesday.
Both Victor Wanyama and Harry Winks picked up injuries during the weekend's win against Burnley, although the former is set to be assessed ahead of the Liberty Stadium game and could be included.
But the 21-year-old will certainly be omitted with a twisted ankle as Tottenham look to close the gap further on Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table.
It is a different story at the other end for Swansea, who are hovering above the drop zone and are just one point ahead of Hull in 18th spot.
They will also be looking for their first league win in three games but have never beaten Spurs in the Premier League, drawing twice with nine losses.
Swansea's top scorer Fernando Llorente missed Sunday's game against Middlesbrough with an ankle injury and the Spain striker faces a late fitness test to see if he can be involved.
Wayne Routledge is set to return in place of Luciano Narsingh after missing the Boro game because of a personal matter, while Ki Sung-yueng is pushing to reclaim a midfield spot.
Alongside Winks, Harry Kane (ankle), Danny Rose (knee) and Erik Lamela (hip) are also sidelined but Kyle Walker is expected to return after he was rested on Saturday.
Tottenham have scored in all 11 of their Premier League fixtures against Swansea, netting 25 goals in total (2.3 per game).
Indeed, of all teams Tottenham have faced 10+ times in the Premier League, they have their highest win rate (82 per cent) and goals-per-game average (2.6) against Swansea.
Both sides have scored in all five previous Premier League meetings between these sides at the Liberty Stadium.
Christian Eriksen has been directly involved in nine goals in his six Premier League games against Swansea (5 goals, 4 assists), more than he has against any other side in the competition.
The Swans have conceded 63 goals in their 30 Premier League matches this term; all previous seven teams with 63+ goals conceded after 30 games of a season were relegated.
Swansea have failed to score in their last two Premier League games. They last failed to net in three successively in May 2013.
Dele Alli has been involved in 11 goals in 11 Premier League games for Tottenham in 2017 so far (8 goals, 3 assists).
Mauricio Pochettino has yet to lose against Swansea in the Premier League as a manager, winning six of his eight clashes to date. Only against Sunderland (9) has Pochettino faced a PL opponent more times without losing than vs the Swans (8).
Swansea v Boro was a weird game; the draw was good for nobody. You look at Swansea, that was the game they had to win, to put a bit of distance between them and the bottom three with Spurs at home coming up.
I'm going to go with Tottenham. It was a professional performance at Burnley. It was difficult at first but they turned it on.
PAUL PREDICTS: 0-2 (7/1 with Sky Bet)
Sky Bet make Tottenham the odds-on favourites at 13/5 to keep the pressure on Premier League leaders Chelsea with victory at Swansea on Wednesday evening. Spurs are now seven points behind the Blues after the weekend's results and Sky Bet's Correct Score Group Betting offers 15/8 for Mauricio Pochettino's men to win 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1.
Swansea are the 19/5 outsiders to boost their survival bid with a surprise victory and the draw is priced up at 14/5. The Swans beat Burnley 3-2 for their last home win and a repeat of that scoreline is out at 50/1 with Sky Bet.
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