Premier League 2016-17 preview, predictions: No. 14, Swansea City
With the 2016-17 Premier League season kicking off this weekend, FC Yahoo is rolling out previews for all 20 teams. We’ll be working our way up from the bottom of our predicted table, all the way to the champions.
Last season: Another year, another mid-table Premier League finish for Swansea. It’s been five seasons in the Prem now for the Swans, and all five have seen them finish between eighth and 12th. The growing monotony of that accomplishment is actually the biggest compliment to the club — one that was languishing in League Two just 12 years ago. The immediate consistency upon promotion has been quietly exceptional.
What’s changed: Swansea has been active recently. Three strikers — Eder, Alberto Paloschi and Bafetimbi Gomis — were offloaded so that the club could break its transfer record to bring in 23-year-old Spanish frontman Borja Baston. That deal is close. Baston’s aging countryman, Fernando Llorente, is also on his way to Wales. But there are two crushing losses: Andre Ayew and Ashley Williams, who have journeyed to West Ham and Everton, respectively.
FC YAHOO TAKE
Shahan Ahmed: Swansea’s success is particularly predicated on a home field advantage, as the Welsh club has only suffered 10 defeats in 38 Premier League matches at the Liberty Stadium over the past two seasons. Even with turnover on the pitch and on the sidelines, the Swans have consistently gobbled up points at home and found ways comfortably stay up. In addition, Italian manager Francesco Guidolin now has Llorente at his disposal, and Llorente’s physical aerial threat may be better suited for a Premier League side fighting in the mid-table than a technically advanced Spanish league side like Sevilla. A hungry forward like Llorente could be the perfect fit for Swansea, and could possibly even propel the Swans into the top half of the table.
Henry Bushnell: This is Swansea’s weakest squad since it ascended to the top flight in 2011. The midfield — Ki Sung-Yueng, Jack Cork, Gylfi Sigurdsson — is fine. Jefferson Montero can be exciting. But elsewhere, there’s real worry. It’s not just the departures either. There’s a glaring lack of depth behind an ordinary-at-best back four, and Llorente and Baston are both gambles, for different reasons. Most bottom-10 Premier League sides have made strides this offseason, but Swansea seems to be backpedaling, and it could slide right into the thick of its first real EPL relegation fight.
Bookmakers say: Point total over/under: 42.5 | Title odds: 1000/1 | Relegation odds: 10/3
FC YAHOO PREDICTIONS
Shahan Ahmed: 10 | Ryan Bailey: 17 | Alex Baker: 10 | Henry Bushnell: 17 | Joey Gulino: 19 | Joe Lago: 16 | Leander Schaerlaeckens: 12 | Average: 14.4 (14th)
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