PREVIEW: Swans v Sunderland

The Swans will be looking for their first home league win of the season on Saturday when they host Sunderland at the Liberty (3pm).

Michael Laudrup's side have earned just a single point on home soil this season, but now face back-to-back games in SA1 for the first time this term.

West Ham are the visitors next Sunday, but first up is Saturday's clash against the Black Cats.

Sunderland have had a poor start to the campaign, earning just one point from seven games, and currently sit bottom of the Premier League.

They parted company with Paolo Di Canio last month, with former Brighton boss Gus Poyet taking over at the Stadium of Light.

And the Uruguayan will be hoping for a change in fortune as his side look to get themselves out of trouble.

The last time the two sides met at the Liberty Stadium was last September when the Swans twice came from behind to claim a point in an entertaining 2-2 draw.

The Swans will once again be without Ashley Williams, but the home side will be boosted by the return of Pablo Hernandez after a hamstring injury.

Jonathan de Guzman is also expected to feature after recovering from a slight knock.

Meanwhile, Sunderland have Steven Fletcher available again after the striker had been out with a shoulder injury.

Midfielder Ki Sung-Yueng, on loan from the Swans, is ineligible to play against his parent club.

Swans boss Michael Laudrup: "For me this is a huge week for us. We have three home games in eight days, and we need to win at home. But it won't be easy. 

"Sunderland have some very good players in their squad, and we will respect them. They have a new manger and they will want to do their best and show him that they should be starting. 

"If we can get two good results in the league, and a win on Thursday, we will sit comfortably in the table and have one foot in the knockout stages of the Europa League. 

"It will mean a lot for us and the confidence that it will bring. But we need to win."

 

Sunderland boss Gus Poyet: "I think they (Swansea) have the perfect approach. They've changed manager, but they've tried to maintain that philosophy. That's a big advantage for any manager who goes there. 

"There's a team who've been playing for five or six years in the same way and they're slowly getting better and better. 

"It's a big contrast - we have a few problems. We have changed a manager and we have got a new group of players. 

"We will go there to win. We need to win football games. We cannot go to places looking to get just one point." 

Sunderland have kept a clean sheet in three of their previous four Barclays Premier League games against Swansea

Gus Poyet will become the 11th different manager to take charge of a Sunderland match in the Premier League

The Black Cats are only the sixth team in Premier League history to have recorded one (or no) point after seven games; three of the previous five were relegated