It’s crunch time ... but how do relegation rivals Swansea and Hull compare?
CRYSTAL Palace’s trouncing of Arsenal on Monday night has made it look more and more like a Swansea City versus Hull shoot-out to avoid relegation from the Premier League.
The north-east pair of Sunderland and Middlesbrough look doomed. It seems increasingly likely that it will be one of the Swans or Hull who join them in the drop.
The two teams, of course, have a history when it comes to big games between them.
Swansea preserved their very existence by beating the Tigers in dramatic fashion on the last day of the season in 2003.
Now they go head to head once again.
But just how do the two teams measure up and who is likely to cope best with the pressure in the crucial coming weeks?
There are a whole host of factors which will come into play between today and May 21, when the curtain comes down on another Premier League season.
Here’s our guide on the relegation run-in... THE CURRENT STATE OF PLAY Swansea stand two points behind Hull in the relegation spots. The two sides each have six games left to play and there is just one goal between them in terms of goal difference.
The Swans are on 28 points, with Middlesbrough below them on 24 and Sunderland rock-bottom with 20.
Hull occupy the crucial 17th spot with 30 points, with Palace rising up to 34 on the back of their 3-0 triumph against the Gunners. None of the teams up to Leicester in 11th place and on 36 points are totally out of the woods yet, but reality says it’s Hull versus Swansea for the last place. Verdict: It’s advantage Hull at the moment, but there are still 18 points to play for and plenty of twists and turns to come. The Tigers may have the momentum but confidence is a fragile thing. THE RUN-INS Swansea can be reasonably pleased with their sequence of final six fixtures because there are definitely opponents they can get points from.
April presents two away fixtures, the first against Watford, the second at Manchester United.
The United clash will be written off by many, but Jose Mourinho’s men have a habit of drawing with lowerleague opposition and Swansea could become the next. Saturday’s trip to Watford simply must yield a return of points to South Wales.
In between those two away fixtures, the Swans host a Stoke side in terrible form and that is a huge opportunity.
May’s opener sees Everton travel to the Liberty. Then it’s Sunderland away, with David Moyes’ side probably relegated by then and thus probably having nothing left to play for.
The Swans finish with West Brom at home. Tony Pulis sides are never easy to play against, but that’s a last-day finale the Swans will be happy with, given West Brom also have nothing to play for.
Hull’s next three games are against mid-table sides, Stoke and Southampton away and Watford at home.
They’ll expect to beat Sunderland at home, head to Crystal Palace... and round off with a home clash against Tottenham Hotspur on the final day.
Spurs will still be hoping to win the league, but it’s likely to have been wrapped up at that point by Chelsea. Verdict: Much of a muchness, but again possibly a very slight advantage to Hull. They only meet one side in the top eight, whilst the Swans face three teams currently sitting in there.
However, if Swansea can keep up the chase until the final game of the season, they’ll be favourites. West Brom at home is a kinder game than Tottenham. PLAYING PERSONNEL The Swans clearly have the upper hand in terms of individual quality, boasting the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson and Fernando Llorente, each matchwinning players.
And you can’t underestimate the power of a goalscoring defender like Alfie Mawson who has pitched in to get Swansea out of trouble on occasions this season.
The other major strength the Swans possess is experience, they’ve been around in the Premier League for five years and it hasn’t always been straightforward.
It’s never been quite this bad during their stay in the top flight, but a number of the players in the current squad have dealt with the relegation threat before and pulled their club out of trouble.
Lukasz Fabianski is a more than capable goalkeeper, Leroy Fer pops up with goals from the midfield.
Oumar Niasse has netted three times in his last four games for Hull, and although he’s struggled with injury the team’s record when Abel Hernandez plays is largely very good. Verdict: Hull would love to have the goal-power offered by Sigurdsson and Llorente. Very much advantage Swans