Villa travel to Wales to take on Swansea on Saturday, knowing that they haven’t won at the Liberty Stadium since Swansea were promoted into the Premier League in 2011.
The reverse fixture took place at Villa Park in October, with the Swans coming from behind to beat Villa 2-1. Since that fixture, both sides have changed their managers, with Tim Sherwood departing a day after the defeat to Swansea, whilst Garry Monk left in December after failing to stop Swansea sliding down the table after a bright start to the season.
With Villa currently nine points adrift of safety, Garde knows his side must win to stand any chance of survival. However, it is virtually impossible to foresee any scenario in which Villa come away with a point, let alone three. A run of five consecutive defeats has ended any slim hopes Villa had of clawing their way out of the relegation zone.
Despite Villa’s awful current run of form, there is better news on the injury front. Defensive midfielder Carlos Sanchez is set to return to first-team action at the weekend, whilst Adama Traore and Jack Grealish are edging closer to full fitness and are likely to return to after the international break.
Swansea this season have found consistency hard to come by this season. After a good start to the season, which saw them lose only three of their first 10 games, the Swans have only won five of their last 20 league games and parted company with Garry Monk in December after he failed to stop Swansea slipping down the table.
In truth, despite Swansea’s lack of form, it should be an easy victory for the home side which will in turn move them further away from the relegation scrap. For Villa on the other hand, it is likely to be another long afternoon and another match closer to confirming relegation.
