Swansea v Liverpool preview: Daniel Sturridge set for recall

Liverpool, straight from their Europa League semi-final first-leg defeat against Villarreal, head to the Liberty Stadium on Sunday with the aim of securing European football for next season.

They need to chase down West Ham in sixth to guarantee it and will be relying on the fine form of Daniel Sturridge, who has scored in six of his last seven Premier League appearances, including each of the last four.

The 1-0 home victory over Chelsea nearly three weeks ago took Swansea to 40 points and seemingly a sixth straight season in the top flight.

But back-to-back defeats at Newcastle and Leicester have left them with a bit of work still to do as Norwich and Sunderland could yet overhaul them and plunge them into the bottom three.

Team news

Swansea are without striker Alberto Paloschi and midfielder Leroy Fer for Liverpool's visit on Sunday.

The pair have both picked up hamstring injuries and head coach Francesco Guidolin does not know if they will figure again this season.

Jefferson Montero, Ki Sung-yueng and Bafetimbi Gomis are all vying for rare starts as Swansea seek to bounce back from successive away defeats at Newcastle and Leicester.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is likely to ring the changes for a game which kicks off 56 hours after they returned from their Europa League semi-final in Villarreal.

Goalkeeper Danny Ward could get another start while striker Daniel Sturridge, an unused substitute in Spain, is set for a recall.

Playmaker Philippe Coutinho should be recovered from the illness which forced him off at half-time on Thursday but is only likely to be on the bench.

Opta stats

The Swans have kept six clean sheets in their last nine Premier League matches at the Liberty Stadium.

Swansea didn't manage a single shot on target when they visited Anfield back in November, losing 1-0.

The Swans have converted just 31 per cent of their clear-cut chances in the Premier League this season; a league-low.

Gylfi Sigurdsson has scored the most goals (11), had the most shots on target (30) and created the most goalscoring chances (54) for Swansea in the Premier League this season.

Swansea have won just one of their nine Barclays Premier League meetings with Liverpool (drawn three, lost five), losing the last four in a row.

Daniel Sturridge has scored four goals in four Premier League starts for Liverpool against Swansea.

Sturridge has scored in six of his last seven Premier League appearances (six goals), including each of the last four.

Liverpool have scored 17 goals in their last six Premier League away games.

Liverpool have lost a league-high 19 points from winning positions in the Premier League this season.

Merson's predictions

Liverpool don't need this game. Swansea were atrocious against Leicester last week and really Liverpol should win 5-0. Jurgen Klopp has a big game against Villarreal to prepare for and it's bigger than this.

Swansea will have a go and Liverpool, whoever they put out, will have a go as well. They're not going to go there and bore everyone to death, they'll go out and enjoy themselves.

Swansea have got Gylfi Sigurdsson who can put the ball on a sixpence and Liverpool aren't exactly going to be working on their set-pieces so I'll also go Ashley Williams first goalscorer.

Paul predicts: Swansea 2-2 Liverpool

Betting

Liverpool will want to bounce back from their Europa League disappointment when they take on Swansea on Sunday and Sky Bet make the Reds the 5/4 favourites to get the win with Swansea 21/10 and the draw trading at 12/5. Sky Sports' football pundit Phil Thompson has tipped Daniel Sturridge to score the first goal in a 2-0 win at odds of 28/1.

Take a look at the odds and other tips from our pundits here.