Premier League preview: Swansea City v Everton
20 September 2012
Swansea City and Everton will be looking to continue their bright starts to the English Premier League season at Liberty Stadium on Saturday.
The departure of manager Brendan Rodgers to Liverpool was expected to unsettle Swansea, but they have started life under Michael Laudrup well.
It has come largely thanks to new Spanish forward Michu, who has netted four league goals after switching from Rayo Vallecano.
His form has seen Swansea score an equal league-high 10 goals in their opening four games, recording victories over Liverpool, Queens Park Rangers and West Ham United.
Injuries and suspensions have seen Swansea left without the likes of Neil Taylor, Kyle Bartley and Chico Flores at times this season.
Defender Alan Tate, who is likely to keep his spot alongside Ben Davies for the clash at Liberty Stadium, said his team were eager to bounce back from their 2-0 loss to Aston Villa.
"To be fair, we have a good attitude and character within this squad, and we don't go over the top when we win and we don't hit rock bottom when we lose," he said.
"We'll just get back to training down and make sure we are fully prepared for a tough game with a very good Everton side."
David Moyes' men were unfortunate not to collect all three points against Newcastle last time out, drawing 2-2 at Goodison Park on Monday.
Everton striker Victor Anichebe was denied a clear goal after his header had crossed the line but was not awarded.
Since their surprise win over Manchester United in their opening league fixture, Everton have registered a win over Aston Villa, a loss to surprise packets West Bromwich Albion and the Newcastle draw.
The Merseyside club have conceded all five of their goals this Premier League season in the second half, a trend Moyes will hope ends sooner rather than later.
Attacker Steven Pienaar has returned to Everton in fine form, scoring once and setting up two others to start the campaign.
More of the same will be needed from the South African international when his side meet Swansea.
