Saturday 6th January 2017 Kick off 1500hrs Wolves v Swansea City Football – England – FA Cup The FA Cup provides one of the few chances for lower division clubs to compete against Premier League clubs and the third round, particularly, is infamous for shocks. Wolves hosting Swansea would ticks the box of a lower league club hosting one for the top flight but that’s where the romance really ends. Wolves are flying high at the top of the Championship whilst Swansea are rooted to the foot of the Premier League, making this a very even game. Indeed, there would be very few surprises or people shocked if the home side prevail in this encounter.
It was a tremendous December for Wolves in their bid to assume control of the Championship promotion picture. The league leaders came out of the hectic period without losing a game – taking 17 points from a possible 21. It’s a run that has extended their lead to 12 points which is the biggest gap they have created all season long. It now looks increasingly likely that they will be playing top flight football next season barring a complete collapse, and the manner of their performances thus far would suggest that is not going to happen. The FA Cup provides a different test, of course, and it will also likely see a number of fringe players being used to freshen things up after that festive period where the fixtures come thick and fast. Wolves turned in several good performances in the other domestic cup competition, only succumbing to a very strong Manchester City side away from home – a tie that went all the way to penalties. Another Premier League test awaits on Saturday but one that looks infinitely more realistic, on paper at least.
Swansea have had a very difficult season thus far and it is showing little sign of improving anytime soon. Having narrowly escaped relegation last season under Paul Clement, the Swans have found themselves in a similar position once again and it was Clement himself who paid the price by losing his job less than a year after being appointed. There was much debate and discussion around who would be his replacement but the eventual appointment – Carlos Carvahal – was one few would have predicted, not least because he was sacked by Championship strugglers Sheffield Wednesday only days before. Despite the concern and fear about his inexperience of managing at this level, he did managed to lead his new players to victory for only the second time in 14 games when winning 2-1 at Watford in their last game of 2017. They were always going to be up against following that win up with further points in their next game at home to Tottenham, where they were duly turned over 2-0. The win over Watford has at least given Carvahal something to work with early on in his tenure. He has already stated that he’ll use this game to give some other players a chance before deciding his strategy for the transfer window so we can expect plenty of changes from Tuesday’s game with Spurs.
Wolves v Swansea Betting Tip
Wolves have one of the biggest squads in the Championship, in fact it probably wouldn’t look too out of place in the Premier League. That provides Nuno Espirito Santo with the luxury of being able to make a number of changes without impacting terribly on the overall quality of the team. Despite being in far better form than Swansea and nothing separating in terms of league placings on the overall ladder, they will still have to play well to beat them so the quality has to be there. A run in the FA Cup is probably not even remotely of interest to Swansea as they battle to avoid what would be painful relegation for all concerned. The club have jumped from manager to manager over the last couple of seasons and without any consistency on and off the park it is usually only a matter of time before they succumb to the drop. That will be the absolute primary concern for Carvahal and he will approach this game accordingly.
The bookmakers have taken all this into consideration and know that there is little – if anything – between these two clubs despite playing in different divisions. Wolves’ home record is also tremendous as you would expect from a team who are well clear at the top of such a competitive league. Only Cardiff have won at Molineux this season and I think that will still be the case come full time on Saturday. Even with changes Wolves are on the crest of a wave just now and can see off a struggling Swansea team.
Wolves 5/6 @ Betway
