Everton opposition scouting report: Swansea

After what seemed like an eternity, we’re finally back to Premier League action. Everton’s upcoming match against bottom feeders Swansea is a must win for the Toffees.

Let’s take an in-depth look at Swansea, dissect their team and profile what Everton should expect from the Swans at Goodison Park on Saturday.

Swansea is in the midst of an abysmal stretch, the worst in the Premier League. It’s a tricky encounter for Everton as the Swans will play with desperation, like their Premier League lives depend on Saturday’s fixture.

Swans in a nosedive

The stats do not reflect kindly on the Swans. For starters, the Welsh side haven’t won since beating Burnley 1-0 away on opening day. That was three months ago. Sitting alongside Sunderland, the other Premier League bottom dwellers, Swansea have five points from 11 games and have been outscored 6-2 in their last two.

Caught in a downward spiral, Swansea have lost seven of eight. Only a 0-0 with Watford on October 22 spares them from losing eight on the bounce. No other team in the Premier League, not even Sunderland, have lost eight in a row.

American Bob Bradley, since inheriting the managerial reigns on Oct. 15, has not yet won a Premier League game. Talk about an unceremonious welcome to England’s top flight.

Swansea owns the league’s second worst defense

Romelu Lukaku must be licking his chops. He’s about to come up against a Swansea team that has allowed 21 goals, the second most in the league. Only Hull, who allowed almost half of their goals in two matches, have allowed more.

Swansea are slightly better on their travels, having conceded eight goals in five away fixtures.

Focus on stopping Leroy Fer and Gylfi Sigurdsson

Stop Leroy Fer and Gylfi Sigurdsson and you stop the Swans. That’s how the 2016-17 campaign has thus far unfurled for Swansea. Fer leads the team with four league goals, followed by Sigurdsson’s pair. The midfield duo have scored 60 percent of Swansea’s league goals.

Ashley Williams knows Sigurdsson’s tendencies like the back of his hand and should be able to silence Swansea’s talisman.

Fer is a bit more of an unknown quantity. Williams played with the on-loan QPR player for a brief stint before Fer made his permanent move to the Swans. He’s a box-to-box, technically gifted midfielder who, on his day, can inflict damage on any defense. But he’s not the type of player that can solely dominate a game. Williams and Phil Jagielka should have everything under control on Saturday.

So, as the story goes, stop Fer and Sigurdsson and see the Swans continue their extended nosedive.

Next: Yellow card-prone Martin Atkinson to ref Everton vs Swansea

Recent Meetings at Goodison

Swansea flew into Goodison in January and escaped with a 2-1 win on their last visit to Merseyside. The previous meeting at Goodison, in November 2014, ended in a 0-0 stalemate.

Everton last beat Swansea on home turf in March 2014. The Toffees, thanks to goals from Leighton Baines, Lukaku and Ross Barkley, won that pulsating, end-to-end thriller 3-2.

Williams, who will be playing against his former team for the first time on Saturday, scored for the Swans in that loss.

Let’s hope he scores his first Everton goal against his former teammates. He doesn’t have to go mental during his celebration out of respect for his former side. Leave that up to the Toffees faithful.