The FourFourTwo Preview: Swansea vs Tottenham
A run of seven Premier League games without a win has left Swansea City desperate to pick up three points against Tottenham on Sunday.
The dismal streak, broken up somewhat by a memorable 2-1 FA Cup victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford a fortnight ago, sees Michael Laudrup's men sit just three points clear of the Premier League relegation zone.
The likes of West Ham and Crystal Palace beneath them playing on Saturday could heap the pressure on Swansea to get a result at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday, but recent history does not read in their favour.
The men from South Wales have struggled against Tottenham since their promotion back to the English top flight in 2011, losing four of the five Premier League clashes between the sides, who both remain in this season's UEFA Europa League.
Tottenham came away with a 1-0 victory from the reverse fixture in August and Swansea's last league win against the north London outfit was way back in 1982. Swansea did, though, record a League Cup victory over Tottenham at the Vetch Field in 1991.
This weekend's visitors have been in a rich vein of form of late and are unbeaten in the Premier League under new head coach Tim Sherwood.
The White Hart Lane club have won four of those games and currently sit eight points adrift of leaders and local rivals Arsenal in sixth.
Laudrup could welcome Michel Vorm (knee), Roland Lamah (abductor) and Dwight Tiendalli (hamstring) back to the fold for the visit of Tottenham, but while wingers Nathan Dyer (ankle) and Pablo Hernandez (hamstring) have returned to full training for the hosts, they are unlikely to ready in time to play.
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Jose Canas (ankle) and Jonathan de Guzman (calf) will both miss out, as Swansea look to cope with a midfield injury crisis not helped by Michu's (ankle) continued absence.
Former Swansea midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson (calf) is back in contention for Tottenham, while Andros Townsend (hamstring) could make his return after scoring for the under-21s in midweek.
Jan Vertonghen (ankle) and Younes Kaboul (thigh) have resumed training, but will not feature on Sunday and Paulinho (ankle) remains sidelined.