Doncaster V Swansea - Friday night

Doncaster V Swansea

Doncaster host league leaders Swansea at Belle View as the bid to make it 3 successive wins against a top five opposition.

Doncaster have really laid down a marker in recent times and come into this game on the back of two 1 – 0 wins over 3rd placed Carlisle and 5th placed Leeds. Last weekend victory over Leeds was most impressive, as Elland road is not the easiest place to go and get a result. 13 points taken from the last 15 has pushed them right up into the promotion fold and a win against Swansea would leave them in 2nd place.
Their home this season has been solid if unspectacular. Early results were poor but they seemed to have turned a corner and as with each win the confidence has grown.
Defender Gordon Greer looks to be the only casualty as manager Sean O' Driscoll has an otherwise full strength side to chose from.

Doncaster’s last 5 home games
Doncaster 0 0 Brighton 04/12/2007
Doncaster 1 2 Yeovil 16/12/2007
Doncaster 2 0 Northampton 26/12/2007
Doncaster 3 1 Southend 29/12/2007
Doncaster 1 0 Carlisle 12/01/2008

Swansea have been a revelation this year. They have been backed at big prices on the exchanges and are currently trading at odds on to become the League champions. It’s hard to argue against them too. 9 wins from the last 10 outings and their last defeat was a 1 – 0 reversal to Huddersfield way back in mid November.
They have been scoring goals for fun and top the goalscoring charts with 48 goals, a feat equalled only by Leeds this term. Much of their recent success has come at home with 7 successive victories. On the they have picked up plenty of points also but they still have some tough fixtures to negotiate in the form of Carlisle and Nottingham Forest amongst others. The trip to Nottingham comes next Tuesday and with games coming thick and fast at the Swans they can be quite happy at the fact that they have an 8 point cushion at the top of the table.
Andrea Orlandi looks set to be out for a long spell as scans reveal he has sprained medial ligaments of the knee and has a tear in the cartilage.

Swansea’s last five away
Yeovil 1 2 Swansea 27/10/2007
Millwall 2 2 Swansea 06/11/2007
Tranmere 0 1 Swansea 24/11/2007
Swindon 1 1 Swansea 01/01/2008
Luton 1 3 Swansea 12/01/2008

Verdict
Swansea are on a 10 game unbeaten run which will have to end eventually. They had a game last Tuesday night and a long trip to Doncaster will really test their fitness levels. On top of this, another journey to Nottingham is close on the horizon. Doncaster have had two excellent results in the last two games and are full of confidence. This game will test them but luck is on their side as I feel this is the best time to be playing the Swans. Doncaster play a very expansive passing style and it’s a game that’s hard to play against. It also wears down the opposition and the advantage of playing at home and having an extra three days rest over their opponents may just give them that slight edge to nick 3 points. The prices on the home side are too good to turn down
Doncaster to win 1 – 0 or 2 - 1

Pick
Doncaster 0,-0.5 (2.05 @ canbet) 5 points