Swansea are labelled as 3/4 favourites to pick up their first back to back wins of 2013 with a win against a strikerless West Ham at The Liberty Stadium.
Sunday’s game between Swansea and West Ham is set to be a contrasting clash between two sides that are looking to improve on rather sluggish starts to the season.
Swansea have been on a good run in the last few games and the current Capital One Cup champions could potentially climb to 9th in the table should they pick up the three points.
biggest question facing Michael Laudrup is surrounding the fate of club captain Ashley Williams as the defender has recovered from an ankle injury and is available for selection if needed.
A similar situation has also befallen midfielder Pablo Hernandez who is back following a hamstring but Laudrup could choose to rest both players and keep them fresh ahead of the South Wales derby against Cardiff next weekend.
Although home is often considered an advantage, Swansea have only won 1 out of their last 9 Premier League games at The Liberty Stadium and this will be a fact that Laudrup will want to change on Sunday afternoon.
For West Ham, the aim will be to move away from the relegation zone as The Hammers are only staying out of there thanks to a better goal difference than Norwich City.
West Ham are still blighted by injuries with none of their top stars such as Andy Carroll, James Collins and Alou Diarra near to returning for the squad.
This means that Sam Allardyce is still without any natural strikers and he could call upon Carlton Cole to make his first appearance since re-joining the club provided he is fully match fit.
A lot of focus has been shone on West Ham’s inability to find the back of the net but with The Liberty Stadium having seen the most goals scored out of any ground in the Premier League, this could give Hammers’ fans some hope as they make the long trip west to South Wales.
The clash between Swansea and West Ham will be a tight affair but having been so effective against Sunderland last week, The Jacks will no doubt be confident that they can win comprehensively at home for the second week running.