Preview - Swansea City

WEST HAM UNITED v SWANSEA CITY
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
BOLEYN GROUND
SUNDAY 7 DECEMBER 2014
KICK-OFF: 1.30PM
REFEREE: CHRIS FOY


In brief

West Ham United host Swansea City on Sunday afternoon looking to extend their winning run of games to three. Following wins over Newcastle United and West Bromwich Albion, the Hammers are looking to complete a great week by securing nine points in as many days.

Sunday's visitors Swansea are also enjoying a good run of form having taken seven points from a possible 12.

The Swans have beaten the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal already this term, sitting in seventh place just two points behind the Hammers on 22 points.

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Football Remembers

West Ham United and Swansea City will contribute to a unique photographic record of football a century on from one the most iconic moments of the First World War.

At fixtures in the Barclays Premier League, the Sky Bet Championship and the FA Cup second round from 6-8 December, all 22 players who start the match will pose together in a group photograph as a mark of respect for those who played in the 1914 Christmas Truce match in Flanders, Belgium.

These group photos will be uploaded to a special website - www.FootballRemembers.com - to which fans, teams and schools can also upload their own pre-match pictures, and it is one of several activities taking place in 'Football Remembers Week' from 6-14 December.

Photos from any match of any size and age can be uploaded, from school matches to Sunday league fixtures, five-a-side matches to kick-abouts in the back garden.

The website of photos will act as a moment of record of football in 2014, a century on from the First World War, and will be preserved for future generations.

The group photographs are part of a commemoration project organised by the Premier League, The Football Association and Football League in partnership with the British Council, to engage football fans in what took place on Christmas Day 1914. One of the highlights of Football Remembers Week will be the Premier League's Christmas Truce International Tournament in Ypres.

To view team photos, including Sunday's taken at the Boleyn Ground, on social media, use the hashtag #FootballRemembers.

Who are they?

Formed in 1912 as Swansea Town, The Swans adopted the name Swansea City when the town was granted City status in 1969.

Having almost gone out of business in 1985 following consecutive relegations,  the directors managed to salvage the club. They continued to slip through the Football League to the fourth division yet their fortunes changed in 2005 with a move away from Vetch Field to the Liberty Stadium.

The Swans have enjoyed three promotions in a decade and are now an established Premier League team.  Praised for their possession-based style of football, their recent success was capped off by winning the League Cup in 2012/13, subsequently qualifying for the Europa League the following year.

Team news

West Ham United

Enner Valencia played the last 25 minutes in the 2-1 win over the Baggies, and is in contention to start on Sunday.

Diafra Sakho and Alex Song have returned to training this week and could also be involved.

Manager Sam Allardyce will make a late decision on Mark Noble's fitness after he missed the game in midweek following a calf injury sustained against Newcastle.

Swansea City

Swansea have an almost clean bill of health with Federico Fernandez the only likely absentee through injury.

Neil Taylor is suspended but otherwise, Garry Monk has a full squad to choose from as they came out of their 2-0 win over Queens Park Rangers unscathed.

Referee

Sunday's referee is Chris Foy. The 52-year-old referee has 13 years of top flight experience.

Foy has taken charge of two West Ham games this season, the opening day 1-0 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur and the 2-2 away draw with Stoke City.

The Assistant Referees are Gary Beswick and Marc Perry, while Mike Dean is the Fourth Official.

Statistics
(2014/15 season - Barclays Premier League only)

Matches refereed: 10
Yellow cards shown: 27
Red cards shown: 3
Penalties awarded: 0

One to watch

West Ham United

With his teammates grabbing the headlines, s excellent contribution has gone slightly under the radar. The Frenchman has made ten appearances this season, scoring two crucial goals in wins against Liverpool and Manchester City.

Swansea City

The Ivorian international has struck up a productive relationship with midfield creator Gylfi Sigurdsson, who has the second highest number of assists on eight, just two behind Cesc Fabregas on ten.

Cick here for a full list of TV broadcasters. 

Tickets

Tickets will be available to buy on the day, with the Alpari Stand ticket office open from 9am. Tickets are still available online here.

Tickets for the Hammers' home game with Leicester City on Saturday 20 December are available here.

Travel

For the very latest news on the London Underground, please visit the TfL website here.

Weather

Sunday evening is set to be a cloudy day with rain predicted for later in the afternoon. Temperature at kick off is forecast to be 10C (50F).

Last meeting

West Ham United 2-0 Swansea City
Barclays Premier League
1 February 2014

Andy Carroll twice set up goals for Kevin Nolan before being sent off as 10-man West Ham beat Swansea to ease their relegation predicament.

Carroll caused chaos in the visiting defence, but 14 minutes into the second half received a straight red card from referee Howard Webb for an altercation with Chico Flores, after appearing to brush the defender with his elbow.

For the first goal, West Ham broke from deep and left-back McCartney drilled a cross into the area which Carroll stretched to reach. His header found the late-arriving Nolan, who chested the ball down before volleying into the bottom corner.

For the Hammers' second Stewart Downing's inswinging cross was met at the far post by Carroll, who craned his neck enough to direct the ball back into the six-yard box and Nolan headed it inside the post to double his tally for the season.

West Ham United: Adrian, Demel, Collins, Tomkins, McCartney, Noble, Taylor (Reid 79), Jarvis (C Cole), Nolan (Nocerino 87), Downing, Carroll, C. Cole, Nocerino
Subs not used: Jaaskelainen, Johnson, Morrison, Borriello

Swansea City: Tremmel, Amat (Pozuelo 63), Chico Flores, Williams, Tiendalli, Davies, Shelvey (Hernandez 70), Dyer (Ngog 77), Routledge, de Guzman, Bony
Subs not used: Cornell, Rangel, Britton, Lamah