Swansea City vs Everton Preview: Last Meeting, Recent Form, Team News & More

Swansea City host Everton on Saturday afternoon as the Welsh side look to haul themselves clear of the relegation dogfight.

The Swans need another huge win to give themselves breathing room as the season enters its run in, but the Toffees will prove to be formidable foes in this weekend's Premier League clash.

Here's the lowdown on what's worth knowing ahead of the contest:

Last Meeting

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Everton recorded their first win in eight attempts against Swansea thanks to a 3-1 victory at Goodison Park in late December.

Leroy Fer's 35th minute opener caused the sleepy Blues to wake from their slumber, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin's equaliser on the stroke of half time gave them momentum heading into the break.

Former Swans talisman Gylfi Sigurdsson put the home side in front just after the hour mark before Wayne Rooney's penalty 15 minutes from time condemned the visitors to yet another defeat and kept them rooted in the bottom three.

Recent Form

Swansea are in the midst of a three game winless run after Carlos Carvalhal had guided them clear of the drop zone with four wins and two draws from seven league matches.

Draws against Huddersfield Town and West Brom either side of a defeat to Manchester United have caused their survival chances to shudder to a halt, but the Swans still lie four points clear of 18th placed Southampton with five games remaining.

The Toffees, meanwhile, are looking to bounce back from disappointing results against Manchester City and bitter rivals Liverpool, and will look to make it successive victories on the road for the first time since September 2016 after they saw off struggling Stoke City 2-1 before the match international break.

Team News

Carvalhal won't be able to call upon Fer (achilles), Wilfried Bony (knee) or Renato Sanches (hamstring) for Everton's visit but could welcome back a quartet of other stars.

Mike van der Hoorn, Martin Olsson, Angel Rangel and Sam Clucas will all face late fitness tests over their involvement and, if any of them return, it will be a boost for the South Wales outfit.

Sam Allardyce has revealed that Idrissa Gueye and Phil Jagielka will be fit to feature despite possible knocks picked up in training this week.

Sigurdsson is unable to make his Liberty Stadium return due to an ongoing knee problem, while Eliaqium Mangala, James McCarthy and Maarten Stekelenburg also remain on the treatment table.

Predicted Swansea Lineup: Fabianski; Naughton, Mawson, Fernandez, Olsson; Ayew, Ki Sung-Yeung, King, Carroll, Dyer; Abraham.

Predicted Everton Lineup: Pickford; Coleman, Keane, Jagielka, Baines; Gueye, Rooney; Walcott, Davies, Bolasie; Tosun.

Prediction

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It's difficult to say which way this encounter will go. Swansea are fighting for their lives and should fancy their chances against mid table Everton.

However, the Swans have spluttered in recent weeks and know that conceding the first goal could prove to be damaging against a more resilient Blues outfit of late.

Everton will be buoyed over ending their hoodoo against the hosts last time out, but in truth we reckon this one will end up as a score draw with neither set of fans going home too happy.

Predicted Score: Swansea City 1-1 Everton