Swansea City vs. Arsenal: Team News, Preview, Live Stream and TV Info
Arsenal face another tough trip on the road on Saturday as they travel to Swansea City looking to move on from their 3-3 draw at Bournemouth in their last Premier League fixture.
The Gunners have since beaten Preston North End 2-1 in the FA Cup third round, but despite their comeback against the Cherries, trailing Bournemouth 3-0 will still be a fresh memory for some in manager Arsene Wenger's squad.
Saturday's outing at the Liberty Stadium will also be Swansea manager Paul Clement's first as a Premier League boss, having watched the January 3 win over Crystal Palace from the stands at Selhurst Park on the same day his appointment was confirmed.
The former Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich assistant manager was in charge of the team for Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Hull City in the FA Cup, but this will be his first taste of action in the top flight.
Read on for all the latest team news related to the fixture, complete with all the essential viewing information and a match preview.
Date: Saturday, January 14
Time: 3 p.m. GMT/10 a.m. ET
Venue: Liberty Stadium, Swansea, Wales
TV Info: beIN Sports 2 (U.S.)
Live Stream: beIN Sports Connect (U.S.)
| Hull City 2-0 Swansea City | Preston North End 1-2 Arsenal |
| Crystal Palace 1-2 Swansea City | Bournemouth 3-3 Arsenal |
| Swansea City 0-3 Bournemouth | Arsenal 2-0 Crystal Palace |
| Swansea City 1-4 West Ham United | Arsenal 1-0 West Bromwich Albion |
| Middlesbrough 3-0 Swansea City | Manchester City 2-1 Arsenal |
Team News
The Gunners have received a considerable boost in the buildup to Saturday's match with the news that trio Mesut Ozil, Hector Bellerin and Kieran Gibbs are in line to return to fitness.
James Olley of the London Evening Standard reported Ozil is ready to come back after missing the last three games, and Football Radars highlighted how crucial a passing conduit the German has been so far this season:
However, Olley added there are doubts over Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck with calf and knee injury doubts, respectively, while ESPN FC's Mattias Karen noted last week that Francis Coquelin will be out for "three to four weeks."
Swansea, meanwhile, have been hit with more recent bad news in regards to squad fitness and confirmed on Wednesday that left-back Neil Taylor is set for a spell out of action after fracturing his cheekbone:
The Swans were already suffering on the flanks, with winger Jefferson Montero likely to be missing until late January due to a hamstring injury, per Andrew Gwilym of the South Wales Evening Post.
Taylor's absence means Stephen Kingsley is likely to slot in at left-back, while more cover could be needed out wide for winger Modou Barrow, who is a doubt for Saturday, per ESPN FC's Ben Dinnery.
Predicted Swansea City XI (4-3-3): Lukasz Fabianski; Kyle Naughton, Stephen Kingsley, Alfie Mawson, Federico Fernandez; Leroy Fer, Jack Cork, Ki Sung-yueng; Wayne Routledge, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Fernando Llorente
Predicted Arsenal XI (4-2-3-1): Petr Cech; Hector Bellerin, Nacho Monreal, Shkodran Mustafi, Laurent Koscielny; Aaron Ramsey, Granit Xhaka; Theo Walcott, Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil; Olivier Giroud
Preview
There's a major burden on Arsenal frontman Olivier Giroud to perform this Saturday if he does retain his place in Wenger's XI, having netted three goals in his last four games across all competitions.
The most recent of those performances was another heroic display in the 2-1 win at Preston—where he netted an 89th-minute winner—and it was at Deepdale the striker took on a leadership role, via BigSport:
Swansea, meanwhile, are relying on Clement to revive their campaign with a fresh take on the side, and the well-linked former assistant has already moved quickly to add a big name to his coaching staff:
Ex-Chelsea midfielder and PSG coach Claude Makelele will be a big addition for the Swans—he's a former Premier League ace with international experience, whose winning attitude could be a bad omen for Arsenal.
Clement has his work cut out for him in turning Swansea's season around, with the team 19th in the top flight, but he'll look to maintain a 100-per-cent Premier League record when he welcomes Arsenal to south Wales on Saturday.
.jpg?w=600 "Offseason Moves for Every Team 👉")
.png?w=600 "New NBA Mock Draft 📝")
