Michu aiming for repeat success

Michu is hoping that history repeats itself this afternoon as Swansea City lock horns with Chelsea once again.

The two sides meet at the Liberty Stadium in the battle for Premier League points, at different ends of the table.

The Blues are looking to keep up their title challenge, together with Liverpool and Manchester City, while Swansea are eyeing yet more points on home soil to consolidate their place in the top-flight.

And the Jack Army will be hoping for a repeat of last season's heroics against the side from west London.

The Swans met Chelsea in the Capital One Cup semi-finals last January for a place at Wembley and the chance to win the club's first major silverware.

A remarkable 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge was followed by a gutsy goalless draw in south Wales en route to the Welsh club claiming the trophy.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have never won at the Liberty Stadium and Michu is hoping that lightning strikes twice for Garry Monk's side with just five games left to play this season.

"It will be a difficult game," said the Spaniard. "Chelsea are playing for the title, but they played on Tuesday in the Champions League so they may be tired - and we need to be stronger.

"But we are playing for survival now. It doesn't matter about who we are playing against, we just need to work hard and get some points - all of these games are cup finals.

"We have five left, and when you are playing for your life then you need to do your best. I hope we can keep the record going, but of course it will be difficult.

"We played 180 minutes against them last season in the cup and they didn't score. It was a great moment for us and I hope we can repeat that result on Sunday."

Michu himself is making up for lost time after returning from injury in recent weeks.

The Spain international made his long-awaited comeback in the home defeat to West Brom last month, before making his first start since December in the crucial 2-2 draw with Arsenal at the Emirates.

And last season's top scorer insists that he is happy not to be hitting the back of the net - as long as it means that the Swans are picking up points.

"I'm feeling better," he said. "I'm not quite 100 per cent yet, but I'm just trying to help the team and I have been working very hard to get fit.

"At the moment I'm not thinking about goals. I'm not playing as a central striker now so it is all about the team.

"I just want to focus on doing my best, working hard, and the goals will come."

The former Rayo Vallecano man began this season where he left off last year, netting five goals in his opening ten games in all competitions.

However, just one goal followed before knee and ankle injuries took their toll on the Spaniard.

"It is the worst feeling for a player when you are out and you cannot help," he said. "It has been very, very hard but now I am happy I can help the team do what we want.

"It hasn't been a good season for me because of the injuries, but now I am very happy because I am back and I am always happiest when I am on the pitch.

"We are fighting for Swansea, we are defending the badge, we are happy to do that. We are going to save the club this season and we are going to finish happy and higher than the position we are now."

But despite spending a period on the sidelines, another striker in his first season at the Liberty is proving his worth.

Wilfried Bony, a club-record acquisition from Vitesse Arnhem last summer, has notched 20 goals in his debut season in English football and could well surpass Michu's own 22-goal haul from last year.

And the Spaniard is more than happy to play his part as long as the results follow.

"Because I have been injured for a long time, you can now see my smile, as a player I can help and I am happy," he said.

"Wilfried (Bony) is playing really well and scoring goals so I can go back to working hard for the team and my team-mates to get points."