Hull head into the contest perched precariously three points above the
Premier League relegation zone, while Swansea are riding high in eighth,
having beaten Aston Villa last time out.
But Monk was full of
admiration for the Tigers' efforts in their thrilling previous outing at
home against leaders Chelsea, where Steve Bruce's men levelled the
contest from 2-0 down before going down to a thrilling and sapping 3-2
loss.
"They pushed Chelsea all the way in the last game and I
was really impressed with them," Monk told reporters of Saturday's
opponents. "Hull want to steer clear of the relegation zone so they will
be a determined side coming here.
"But we are focused on
winning the three points, as Hull will be. They have always been close
encounters between the sides in recent times."
Swansea edged a
tight match in December, as Ki Sung-Yueng scored the only goal of the
game at the KC Stadium – deflecting home a long-range Jonjo Shelvey
effort.
Hull boss Bruce handed his players similar plaudits
for the Chelsea display but accepts that it is time to put much-needed
points on the board at the business end of the season.
"The way
we've played over the last few weeks, the performances have been good,"
he said. "Sometimes you don't get the result and we were close to
getting a result against Chelsea so we have to take that into the next
eight games. The tickly bit's here."
Mohamed Diame has
recovered from a long-term knee injury and, along with defender James
Chester (shoulder), returns to the Tigers squad and Bruce is delighted
to have the powerhouse midfielder back at his disposal.
"He's trained, he's available," he added. "Let's hope he stays injury free becaus
No comments:
Post a Comment