Swansea City vs West Bromwich Albion. Premier League.
Swansea.com StadiumAttendance20,789.
Saturday 26 December 2015 15:08, UK
Saido Berahino and Rickie Lambert are both in contention to replace the suspended Salomon Rondon against Swansea at the Liberty Stadium on Boxing Day.
Berahino will rival Lambert to start after six games on the bench, with Rondon set to miss matches against Newcastle and Stoke as well as Swansea following his red card for violent conduct against Bournemouth.
The 2-1 defeat by the Cherries has left West Brom in 13th place, five points above their opponents this weekend, who sit third from bottom with 15 points from 17 games.
Swansea caretaker boss Alan Curtis remains in charge for Saturday's match at the Liberty Stadium, and is preparing to manage the side through the Christmas fixture list as chairman Huw Jenkins completes his search for a new boss.
The Swans are still looking for their first win since October 24, but are set to welcome back Wayne Routledge after the winger missed the goalless draw against West Ham.
Team news
Routledge returns to the Swansea squad after recovering from a knee injury suffered in training last week. Angel Rangel, who sprained his ankle against the Hammers last Sunday, has also been cleared to play.
Lukasz Fabianski missed training on Tuesday after his wife gave birth to a baby boy, but the Poland goalkeeper will feature, though Eder (knee) and Franck Tabanou (thigh) remain out.
Rondon and James McClean start their three-game bans after the pair were sent off in the defeat by Bournemouth with Lambert, Berahino and Callum McManaman possible replacements. Tony Pulis intends to rotate his squad over Christmas, so both Lambert and Berahino are likely to get opportunities as the Baggies play two games in three days.
Claudio Yacob is available after a family bereavement, but Ben Foster continues his battle back from a long-term knee injury.
Opta stats
Albion have won only one of their nine Premier League Boxing Day matches (W1 D2 L6).
Routledge has scored three goals in the last three league games between these two clubs at the Liberty Stadium; all coming in the first half.
Lambert has scored in two of his three league appearances on Boxing Day (2012 v Fulham, 2013 v Cardiff).
Swansea have failed to score in eight top flight games so far this season; more often than any other side.
Swansea are now winless in seven successive Premier League matches (D2 L5); their worst run in the competition since an eight-game winless streak between December 2013 and January 2014.
WBA have gone four games without a victory in the league (W0 D3 L1) - they have never failed to win in five successive top flight games under Pulis.
Bafetimbi Gomis scored with four of his first 10 shots (excluding blocked shots) in the league this season, but has since netted just one goal from 23 shots (excluding blocked shots).
Merson's prediction
It was a stupid tackle by McClean and it sold his West Brom team-mates down the river against Bournemouth, but Berahino could get his chance now.
Swansea played well against West Ham last week without winning the game, and it was a similar story against City the week before. It's going to be a hard game at the Liberty Stadium, and West Brom usually don't lose these types of matches.
Pulis sets his team up well, and he nicks points here and there. Still, I'm going with a home win, which is unusual because Tony is very good at not getting beat, but I think Swansea's luck might change.
PAUL PREDICTS: 2-0 (7/1 with Sky Bet)
Betting
Swansea are Sky Bet's even-priced favourites for the victory with West Brom priced at 3/1 while the draw is 9/4. The managerless hosts have been cut to 11/4 to face relegation as betting on their next boss remains wide open, while the Baggies have shortened to 6/1 following a four-match winless run.
Gomis heads the first goalscorer betting at 9/2 while Lambert is considered the visitors' biggest threat at 15/2 in the absence of Rondon.
