With a top four finish out of reach, Chelsea will be hoping to finish as high in the table as possible before incoming coach Antonio Conte arrives after this summer's EURO tournament. Meanwhile, Swansea City have slowly edged away from the relegation zone, but will be eager to put as much space between themselves and the bottom three before the end of this season.
Swansea City
Under the guidance of former Udinese boss Francesco Guidolin, Swansea City have gradually been turning things around after a poor start to this campaign. The Italian tactician, who arrived in January, was tasked with ensuring that the Swans remain in the top flight at the end of the season, and with 37 points, they are within touching distance of that 40-point mark.
Although they struggled in February, with just two points picked up from their four games, Swansea rebounded in March by winning three out of their four matches, including a morale-boosting victory over Arsenal. Against Stoke, they had to fight back from a 2-0 deficit, but managed to grind out a point and will be hoping to pull off what would be an impressive win against Chelsea this weekend.
Six out of Swansea's nine wins have been at Liberty Stadium, clearly indicating that they have fared off better at home than on the road. However, they have never defeated Chelsea in the Premier League in their past nine attempts, with six losses and three draws. In addition, up until their 2-2 draw earlier this season at Stamford Bridge, the Swans had lost every single one of their prior five Premier League ties, including a 5-0 humiliation at Liberty Stadium last season.
Fortunately for Guidolin, he will have most of his key players available, with African duo Andre Ayew and Modou Barrow set to return to the fold after recovering from injury and a long flight back to England respectively. Should Swansea manage to beat Chelsea, they will not only pick up their first ever Premier League win but also will become the first side in the league to beat the Blues since December.
Chelsea
Since Guus Hiddink's return to Stamford Bridge at the end of last year, Chelsea have undergone a period of transition and improvement. Although the Blues are still struggling to crack the top ten, they nonetheless have gone 15 Premier League matches sans defeat since the Dutch coach's arrival. However, the majority of these matches have finished in draws (eight stalemates vs seven wins), meaning that the reigning Premier League champions have struggled to crack the top ten, let alone even pose a threat to the teams occupying the top four spots.
Out of the FA Cup and dumped out of the Champions League by Ligue 1 powerhouse PSG, Chelsea will unfortunately finish this season without a single piece of silverware to their name. At this point, the London giants are only playing for pride and to finish the season as high in the table as possible as they await the arrival of former Juventus coach Antonio Conte later this summer. Under Hiddink, the Blues have been quite solid on the road, with five wins and one draw out of their past six matches, and as noted before, they have an excellent record against Swansea.
However, unlike Guidolin, Hiddink will be dealing with the absence of several key players. Diego Costa, who has developed a knack for scoring against the Swans with five goals so far, is still suspended for brawling during the team's FA Cup tie with Everton. Eden Hazard will also miss out due to an on-going hip injury, and there are fitness concerns regarding captain John Terry, who sustained an Achilles injury in the team's 4-0 win over Aston Villa.
Additional absentees will be Loic Remy, who was also injured in last weekend's match, as well as midfielder Nemanja Matic - who has struggled to nail down a spot in the starting XI since Hiddink's arrival. However, Gary Cahill, who suffered an injury whilst on international duty, may be able to return for this match as Hiddink will now be without Terry as well as long-term absentee Kurt Zouma as defensive options.
Which channel is broadcasting Swansea City vs Chelsea on TV or Online?
Not able to make it to Liberty Stadium to watch Swansea City vs Chelsea live? No worries. LiveSoccerTV.com has put together plenty of selections to view the game via TV, computer, phone, or tablet.
Here are some choices for fans residing on the other side of the pond:
- In the USA at 10.00 EST on: NBC Sports Live Extra, SiriusXM FC, Directv, NBC UNIVERSO, NBC Deportes En Vivo Extra, Westwood One Sports
- In Canada at 10.00 ET on: TSN2
Live elsewhere? Check out our special Swansea City vs Chelsea broadcast page for viewing times and options for your current location.
*Note: Live broadcast data is subject to change*
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Follow the game on-the-go
Download our iOS and Android apps to follow soccer on-the-go. It comes packed with features - live scores, fixtures, results, tables, line-ups, stats, TV schedule and much more! Sorry, no live streaming within the app.
