Swansea City
Fixtures – November 29 (H), April 30 (A)
Strengths – Garry Monk has made the Swans very hard to beat, whilst retaining their attacking style and flair. They’ve lost Wilfried Bony but still have plenty to offer going forward. It will be interesting to see whether new signings Eder and Andre Ayew can help supply the goals they might otherwise be lacking.
Weaknesses – They’re still a little set in their ways. If they can’t play the Swansea-way then they’ll start to get frustrated and this is where other teams can take advantage. They aren’t quite as regimented as they were under Brendan Rodgers but you still largely know what you’re going to get.
Danger man – Gylfi Sigurdsson was excellent last season, controlling the tempo of games from midfield and really driving his teammates forward. If you want to beat the Swans then you have to put a top to his Icelandic star.
How to beat them – Draw them out of their shell and then hit them on the counter attack. You never want to invite a team to come and attack you, but Swansea will want to come and try and play football, so don’t panic if they have a lot of the ball. When we get, we need to retain it well and frustrate them. They take our chances when they come.
Tottenham Hotspur
Fixtures – October 17 (A), April 2 (H)
Strengths – In Harry Kane, they’ve got one of the finest young strikers in the Premier League – although it remains to be seen whether or not he can continue the unbelievable form he showed last season. Christian Eriksen is the other man that they’re always going to be hoping produces something special, with the duo crucial to any success.
Weaknesses – They’re still recovering from the mistake of their Gareth Bale funded splurge two summers ago. The likes of Roberto Soldado and Erik Lamela have massively disappointed and there’s just not enough goals or creativity in their team. They’ve not spent much this summer and they could struggle again this year.
Danger man – Harry Kane must score goals, or Tottenham are really going to struggle. Will another striker be coming in before the end of the window to help him out? That remains to be seen. For now, it’s going to be down to Soldado and Emmanuel Adebayor.
How to beat them – We’ve had this one down for a couple of years. Mark Eriksen closely and cut off the supply to Kane, who will preferably have one of the two centre-backs on his case at all times. They are vulnerable down the flanks, with uncertainty still surrounding their full-back positions, and they lack a quality holding player.
Watford
Fixtures – December 19 (A), May 7 (H)
Strengths – They scored goals for fun in the Championship and that’s always an encouraging sign for a newly promoted team. They have a big squad and plenty of options to utilise, so it will be interesting to see how they take to the top flight after a lengthy absence. Troy Deeney is surely guaranteed to get them at least a few points.
Weaknesses – An inexperienced manager and a squad overwhelmed with new players from all around Europe. It’s going to be a massive learning curve for them and it’s hard to know where they might be or who might be in charge come December. They could have got it together by then or they could be all but down and out already.
Danger man – Troy Deeney has scored 66 goals over the last three seasons and any success they do have at the top level is going to have a lot to do with him. If he doesn’t deliver then there’s only one way they’re going to be heading.
How to beat them – Make the most of our quality. Push them back and make them put everyone behind the ball. We should have more than enough at our disposal to get the better of Watford, so as long as that fact doesn’t breed complacency in the rest of our squad, then we should be fine.
