Three ways to back your team: Swansea City
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Will Welsh reps beat the drop again?
We came close to losing the English Premier League’s sole Welsh representative last season, with Swansea City needing a late surge to hold their place at the top-table. 12 wins, five draws and 21 defeats saw Paul Clement’s side end 15th.
They ended up safe with a bit to spare, finishing seven points higher than Hull City, but it was all too close for comfort as far as fans of The Swans were concerned. It’s worth noting that only two teams lost more matches last season – Hull and Sunderland – giving the management plenty to think about over the summer.
Swansea nailed on for bottom-half finish
45-year-old Englishman Paul Clement took over from Bob Bradley in January, and it’s obvious the side require a period of stability. Clement, a former assistant at Bayern Munich, took over at the Liberty Stadium with the club in the relegation zone. He achieved his short-term goal of beating the drop, but will now want to put his own stamp on things. Transfer news seems to focus on star names leaving Swansea, rather than new faces coming in, but the gaffer has made a number of shrewd changes to the backroom staff. Does he believe he already has the players to hold their own in the coming months, or do the board lack the cash to back him? Swansea enjoyed a pre-season tour of America, and that would’ve helped refocus the troops, but supporters would be happier with a few new faces. Our traders expect a bottom-half finish, which can be backed at 1/10.
Losing Sigurdsson would hurt
It looks like we could be in for more of the same from Swansea this season, a campaign spent kicking their heels at the wrong end of the table. A number of clubs have shown an interest in Gylfi Sigurdsson, including Everton, but Clement would rather hold on to the talented midfielder – or so he says. The boss could be trying to drive up the asking price, knowing they could do with the money. Everton certainly have it to give. Swansea owners have slapped a £50m price tag on the 27-year-old’s head. A tad ambitious, maybe, but if they do lose him, they’ll be a weaker side. Without Sigurdsson, relegation would be a real possibility, and you can back the Welsh side to go down at 2/1.
Swansea or Newcastle in the match bet?
There’s plenty of match bets at Coral to keep you interested throughout the Premier League season, and here’s one that’ll keep you interested. Will Swansea finish higher or lower in the league than recently promoted Newcastle United? There’s a head-scratcher. Regulars at the Liberty Stadium would expect their club to pull rank and prove themselves a genuine top-tier side, but it’s anyone’s guess at this point. Neither have been too convincing during the summer transfer window. Swansea to finish with more points than Newcastle come the end of the season is 5/4, The Magpies to be better off is 4/7. Swansea have been handed a tough opening month, starting away to Southampton, home vs Man Utd and then visiting Crystal Palace.
