Swansea City vs. Chelsea: Preview, Live Stream, Start Time and More

Chelsea will look to further solidify a spot in the top four of the English Premier League when they travel to Wales to battle Swansea City. The Blues have garnered mixed results against middling EPL clubs of late, sprinkling ties against Wigan, Fulham and Norwich City and a loss to Aston Villa betwixt narrow victories over Wolves, Sunderland and QPR (in FA Cup play).

As for the Swans, they've followed up their 3-2 stunner over Arsenal with a pair of disappointing results—a 2-0 defeat at Sunderland and a 2-1 loss to Bolton in the FA Cup.

The Blues bombarded Swansea at Stamford Bridge, 4-1, in their first meeting of the season behind goals from Fernando Torres, Ramires (two) and Didier Drogba.

Where: Liberty Stadium, Swansea, Wales

When: Tuesday, January 31st at 2:45 p.m. EST

Watch: ESPN2 Caribbean, Abu Dhabi Sports Channel, Sky Sport Extra, SuperSport Maximo, Sport TV2, Viasat Xtra Premier League 1, Nova Sports 3, Nova Sports 4, Tring Sport 2

Live Stream: ESPN3

Player to Watch for Swansea: Danny Graham

I'm tempted to encourage you to keep your eye on goalkeeper Michel Vorm, though you'll have plenty more opportunity to do so once he winds up with a bigger, richer club.

In the meantime, keep your eye on Danny Graham. The 26-year-old striker arrived in Swansea City on a £3.5 million transfer from Watford this past summer, shortly after the Swans' promotion to the Premiership.

Graham has been a solid performer ever since, notching a club-best seven goals while chipping in an assist for good measure. The Tynesider was also responsible for the 70th-minute strike that gave the Swans a stunning victory over Arsenal earlier this month.  

Player to Watch for Chelsea: Frank Lampard

So much for the demise of Frank Lampard. The long-time skipper was thought to be out of the loop once Andre Villas-Boas shifted to a more Iberian attack, led by the likes of Juan Mata, Raul Meireles, Ramires and Oriol Romeu in the midfield.

But the 33-year-old Englishman has fought back with a vengeance of late, scoring goals in two of Chelsea's last three EPL ties to catch Daniel Sturridge for the club lead with nine net-finders.

The old guard may be on its way out of Stamford Bridge, slowly but surely. Just don't expect Lampard to give up his spot without a fight.

Key Matchup: Michel Vorm vs. Blues Attack

Michel Vorm has been nothing short of a savior for the Swans this season, tallying nine clean sheets to keep his side out of the relegation zone. Vorm's talents in nets are particularly crucial for a side privy to a fast-paced, counter-attacking style of play.

Chelsea haven't been particularly prolific on the attack over the last two months, though they still rank fourth in the league with 40 goals so far. As such, in a match where scoring opportunities are bound to be plentiful, the task will fall to Vorm to keep Swansea within shouting distance of the west London juggernauts. 

What They're Saying

As well as Swansea have performed since their promotion, they may not be long for the Premiership, at least if financials are to be considered a factor in sustaining success.

The club revealed this past week that they incurred losses of £8.2 million during the fiscal year ending on May 31st, 2011. Officials have pegged the deficit on the move up from the Championship, with the paying out of player and manager bonuses contributing to the red, along with the split of gate receipts with Reading from their Football League championship match at Reading.

Said Swansea City of the situation in an official statement:

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"The accounts for the current financial year ending May 31, 2012, will be adversely affected by an increase in operating costs, particularly payroll, but our resolve is to realise sufficient profit to counter the 2010-11 loss, and our operating budgets are structured to make this happen.

"With regard to the future, our immediate goal is to consolidate our position in the Premier League and ensure we survive this season.

"Our long-term goal will cater for Swansea City remaining as a top-flight club and to continue to contribute in part to the feel good factor and prosperity in the local community.

"We will not, however, do this in any way that puts the club's financial stability at risk. This remains paramount in our management philosophy.''

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The Swans hope to make up for those losses with improved profits gathered during their first year in the EPL.

Finances are hardly of any concern for Chelsea and don't figure to be so long as Roman Abramovich is in charge. The Blues have been active on the transfer market this month, buying Gary Cahill from Bolton and selling Alex to Paris St-Germain.

It appears, though, that Andre Villas-Boas won't be luring Willian to Stamford Bridge...yet. The Blues boss was reported to have extended a £16 million bid to Shakhtar Donetsk for the 23-year-old Brazilian, though he told ESPN Soccernet otherwise:

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"I think he's an extremely interesting player but I don't think we are going to progress with our interest," he said. "Because of certain issues. From work permit to the player's valuation, I think our project next year is more important than the actual project at the moment.

"Not that Willian doesn't have the characteristics for the future, we are thinking a lot on what we can do next year. Clubs are asking for a lot of money, and not a lot of money is around in society and in football at the moment. The January market is always extra inflated and you have to take that into account."

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In other words, expect AVB to inquire with Willian once the season is over.

Prediction: Chelsea 3, Swansea 1

If Swansea's recent results are any indication, it appears as though they may have used up a tad too much of their beginner's luck on the Gunners. Chelsea will fondly recall their four-goal outburst against the Swans in the early season and promptly counter their counter with an even bigger counter.

But who's counting, really?

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