Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Southampton are another side still looking for their first Premier League win of the season and they will hope that their Europa League win in Midweek will give them a much needed boost of confidence. This afternoon they play host to Swansea.
The Saints brushed pace Sparta Prague on Thursday thanks to two goals from Charlie Austin and an effort from Jay Rodriguez. The goal for Rodriguez would have been a particularly high moment for him after such a long time out through injury.
With Austin bagging a brace he puts himself in contention to start this afternoon after not featuring in last Saturday’s defeat to Arsenal. One that was incredibly harsh on Claude Puel’s side as Arsenal were awarded a very soft injury time penalty which Santi Cazorla subsequently scored to give The Gunners all three points.
Austin could also be the answer to Puel’s issue when it comes to a lack of goals so far this season, life after Graziano Pelle is seeming quite hard to adjust to but after Thursday’s win they will fancy their chances of getting out of the bottom three as Swansea travel to St Mary’s
The South Wales side were unlucky not to come away with all three points last Sunday in a bruising encounter with Chelsea, one that at times resembled some what of a Rugby Union match at The Millennium Stadium. They were only minutes away from a win when Diego Costa’s acrobactic finish gave Chelsea a share of the points.
Swansea have only picked up one win so far and a worry for Francesco Guidolin will be the fact that none of his forwards have scored so yet. Somewhat surprisingly is the fact that Leroy Fer is the clubs top scorer with three goals from midfield. That’s an impressive contribution but it’s time the forward line started pulling their weight.
Fernando Llorente is yet to find the net since his arrival from Sevilla. The World Cup Winner has played every minute of Swansea’s so far and apart from an assist for Fer’s winner at Burnley on the opening day he has largely been ineffectual. Swansea fans will be hoping he opens his account this afternoon.
Francisco Guidolin’s side have probably matched expectations or maybe even exceeded them as many felt that after the departure of Ashley Williams that they would really struggle. If you offered Swansea 4 points from their first four matches then they would have probably taken it.
Can add they add to that tally today, I have a feeling they can. Southampton’s Europa League jaunt will work against them as we have seen teams fail to deal with the conundrum of Thursday-Sunday football on so many occasions. I reckon it will be a share of the points as Claude Puel’s hunt for a first Premier League win continues.
