West Ham vs Swansea
English Premier League
Date: Saturday, 8th April 2017
Kick-off at 15:00 UK / 16:00 CET
Venue: Olympic Stadium, London.
This match is shaping up to be a must-win for both teams. West Ham United have been on a poor run of form and they are slipping closer to the relegation zone, which will be increasing the tension around the London Stadium. Their opponents on Saturday are Swansea City and they are currently the side occupying the third relegation spot. The Hammers triumphed during the last meeting as they ran out 4-1 winners at the Liberty Stadium. On that day their goals were scored by Andre Ayew, Winston Reid, Michail Antonio and Andy Carroll, while Fernando Llorente got a late consolation for the home side.
Slaven Bilic has had to deal with a lot this season, but he has done so with integrity and it is disappointing to see his future being discussed on a daily basis. They are currently five points above the bottom three and although it isn’t ideal, there are reasons for their struggles. The stadium move hasn’t gone as smoothly as was expected and the Dimitri Payet saga has had a lasting effect on the squad. This isn’t the time to speculate about the manager’s future. They need to focus on achieving safety first and that is looking far from certain at the moment.
After a good start to his managerial reign, Paul Clement has seen his side fall back into the relegation zone. They have taken only one point from their last four matches and their loss on Wednesday will weigh heavily on the squad as they were leading for the majority of the match. The Swans conceded three late goals and that could have a huge negative effect on the mentality of the players heading into the last seven matches. It is imperative that they deliver a good performance this weekend.
West Ham
Slaven Bilic’s team is a disaster in the last two months. At the moment, West Ham are on a seven-game winless streak. The West London side was also defeated in the previous five Premier League encounters, allowing at least two goals in each of those matches.
West Ham dropped dangerously close to the relegation zone – only five points separate them from Swansea. Their home performance this season is worrying for Slaven Bilic; West Ham was defeated seven times at Olympic Stadium while managing to remain unbeaten in only eight games (W5 D3).
Swansea
The Swans dropped all the way down to the relegation zone as Hull overtook the 17th position in the previous round. Swansea are on the four-game winless streak, as they only earned one point from the last four Premier League clashes.
This season, their away performances are not promising. Only 10 points earned from 15 away games played. The last time Swansea won on a visit was back in January when they stunned Liverpool at Anfield.
West Ham vs Swansea: Head-to-head
Both teams have three wins each in their previous head-to-head meetings. Previous two meetings between the two sides both ended 1-4.
West Ham vs Swansea: Prediction
The meetings between the teams with struggling defenses can often produce an extremely entertaining match, so we might witness a goal galore at Olympic Stadium.
