- 1 Swansea City vs Burnley : the Championship’s best defence meets its worst
- 2 Swansea City : a locked-down unit, but a silent attack at home
- 3 Burnley : the relegation hangover has not gone away, and neither has the winless run
- 4 Championship prediction Swansea City vs Burnley
- 5 First, a word on our free picks
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information moves fast
- 8 Your role
- 9 Responsible gambling first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the visuals…
Swansea City vs Burnley : the Championship’s best defence meets its worst 
Four goals conceded in six games for Swansea City, 13 for Burnley: the gap between these two sides at the back is as wide as it gets in the Championship right now. That alone tells you what kind of game this could be in round seven.
Swansea sit third with 11 points, just two behind leaders West Bromwich Albion. Burnley, dumped out of the Premier League in the spring, are limping along in 23rd with three points.
The Welsh side do arrive with a bit of a sting in the tail, though. On Tuesday night they suffered their first league defeat of the season at Southampton, losing 3-1 after shipping just one goal across their previous five league matches.
Before that trip, Vitor Matos had made a point of stressing how important it was to keep the division’s best defensive record. The message did not quite land, and there will need to be a response on Saturday.
Burnley, meanwhile, come in off back-to-back 1-1 draws against Middlesbrough and at Wrexham, either side of a 2-1 defeat to Bristol City. Nicky Hayen is still waiting for his first win in charge in normal time.
The match is set for Saturday 12 September at 16:00, at the Swansea.com Stadium. That is exactly where the real question marks sit.
The table says there is an eight-point gap after six games, with Swansea on 11 and Burnley on three. At this stage of the season, that is no fluke.
The late-September international break also hangs over both camps. Swansea want to stay within touching distance of the pace-setters, while Burnley need a first win to head into the pause with something to cling to.
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Swansea City : a locked-down unit, but a silent attack at home 
Swansea have built their start to the campaign on discipline. 11 points from six games, with only four goals conceded, the best defensive tally in the Championship.
The run has been eye-catching: only one goal shipped in five matches before the trip to St Mary’s, with three straight clean sheets in the mix. Matos has a proper base to work from.
The issue is up front, especially at home. Two of the Welsh side’s home games, against Sheffield United and Wrexham, ended in flat 0-0 draws.
The imbalance is obvious: six of Swansea’s eight goals this season have come away from Wales. At home, they are not turning pressure into enough end product.
The good news is that Matos made heavy changes at Southampton. Josh Key, Melker Widell, Stephen Eustaquio, Eom Ji-sung and Adam Idah are all expected to return to the starting line-up.
Zan Vipotnik, who scored at St Mary’s, could oddly enough start on the bench. That says plenty about a squad with more depth than Burnley can call on.
The numbers are as kind as they can be. A win would put Swansea right back on the leaders’ tail before the late-September international break.
The job now is to find a way through a defence that has been leaking from the start. On current evidence, today’s visitors look like the perfect opponents.
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Burnley : the relegation hangover has not gone away, and neither has the winless run 
Burnley have not won a Championship game this season. Three draws, three defeats, six matches gone, three points on the board and 23rd place to show for it.
At the back, it is as bad as it sounds. Their 13 goals conceded is the worst record in the division. Heavy losses at Norwich, 4-1, and at home to West Bromwich Albion, 3-1, did real damage.
But there is one detail that does not get enough attention: the Clarets have scored in every league game so far. Seven goals in six matches is hardly catastrophic for a side down near the bottom.
The recent trend is even a touch better. Two 1-1 draws with Middlesbrough and at Wrexham sandwich a 2-1 defeat to Bristol City, where they were punished by a 91st-minute goal after going ahead.
Hayen is now eight games without a win in normal time since arriving. Still, the Belgian can take a sliver of comfort from the table: Southampton in 13th are only four points ahead.
The injury list is making life harder. Aaron Ramsey picked up a knock at Wrexham, which should push Armando Broja into the middle and move Zeki Amdouni to the flank.
Jamie Vardy is available again after serving a one-match ban, but he is unlikely to start. At best, the veteran striker should be on the bench.
Dastan Satpaev, on loan from Chelsea, has gone back to London to deal with a hamstring injury. So Hayen is left working with a thin attack on the tightest ground in the league.
Likely Swansea City line-up: Vigouroux ; Key, Lisseh, Welsh, Tymon ; Widell, Fulton, Eustaquio ; Yeo, Idah, Eom
Likely Burnley line-up: Weiss ; Sonne, Walker, Julio, Roberts ; Raghouber, Alleyne ; Amdouni, Laurent, Ramazani ; Broja
Championship prediction Swansea City vs Burnley
Our pick: Swansea City to win
Eight points separate the two teams after six rounds, and that gap is no accident. Swansea are conceding less than one goal per 90 minutes on average, while Burnley are giving up more than two.
The return of the rested regulars from Southampton also changes the picture. Key, Eustaquio, Widell and Idah give Matos his first-choice side again, and Burnley arrive without Ramsey or Satpaev.
Burnley have scored in every game, so a blank scoreline is unlikely. But with the division’s leakiest defence heading to the third-placed side, the Welsh win looks the strongest call.
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