Swansea City-Norwich City Preview

Posted Thursday, October 13, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

LONDON (SE) - Newcomers Swansea City and Norwich City are surprisingly mid-table in the Premier League.

The Swans’ upcoming fixtures may keep them there for some time, but finding success away from home will be necessary.

Swansea City get a fourth attempt at a first road win in the top flight Saturday when it faces Norwich at Carrow Road.

Swansea and Norwich have identical 2-2-3 records for eight points in the table, tying them with Queens Park Rangers in an impressive early showing for the three promotion winners.

A favourable fixture list may be providing the Swans the best chance of the three to solidify their position.

After facing the Canaries, Swansea visit Wolverhampton Wanderers next weekend before hosting bottom-of-the-table Bolton the following week. Gaining momentum through that stretch will be key as the club’s following three matches come against Liverpool, Manchester United and Aston Villa.

Swansea are already pleased with their early success, which includes an impressive 2-0 win over Stoke City on Oct. 2.

“Each game has been a different test for us, but I think we have coped well so far,” midfielder Nathan Dyer told the team’s official website. “For the last game against Stoke we had to make sure we didn’t allow them to play to their threats.

“We did very well in that respect, and showed that we are not just a team that passes the ball about and plays what people call pretty football.”

Swansea haven’t enjoyed much success on the road, getting outscored 9-1 while losing all three matches. However, the Premier League debutants have been overmatched by the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea.

Visits to Carrow Road haven’t been much better, with the Swans dropping nine of the last 10 visits, including a 2-0 defeat in the Championship on Aug. 21, 2010. Swansea returned the favour April 9, routing the Canaries 3-0.

“I think you saw in the quality from both teams in the games between us last season, they weren’t normal Championship games given the football that was played,” Norwich defender Russell Martin told the team’s official website. “There was so much passing, so there is a little bit of rivalry there, a good rivalry.”

Scott Sinclair hasn’t been a factor in the rivalry, failing to score in both matches last season despite leading Swansea City with 21 goals. He’s generated some momentum heading into this meeting, scoring twice in three games.

Norwich City are trying to rebound from a 2-0 defeat to Manchester United on Oct. 1, but they played well at Old Trafford before finally conceding in the 68th minute to Anderson. The Canaries had won the previous two matches.

Norwich are lacking a consistent scoring threat, as each of the club’s seven goals have been scored by a different player.

Steve Morison is one of those players, as his goal was the eventual winner in a 2-1 victory over Sunderland at Carrow Road on Sept. 26. He’s failed to score in two meetings with the Swans, but those came with Millwall last season.