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After winning their weekend's FA Cup game, Chelsea will be travelling to Wales for the first time in their Premier League history to face a Swansea side which has defied early season critics to hold a stable midtable spot throughout the first half of the season and have been very tough to overcome at the Liberty Stadium. Swansea are on the back of twin defeats last week, albeit both coming on the road, and are expected to provide a stiff challenge for fourth-place Chelsea, who themselves have been getting results recently despite not looking very convincing at times.

(Click here for the Match Report)

Swansea City:

Brendan Rodgers saw his team give Bolton a good workout, despite making wholesale changes to his starting eleven for the weekend's encounter, changing 10 players from the side that lost to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. They now host Chelsea in Wales on Tuesday, looking to extend their sparkling home form that has helped them climb to 13th place despite their away day troubles. Their exploits at the Liberty Stadium have been backed by very sturdy defensive displays throughout the term, as the Swans have conceded just six goals in front of their home fans, the joint lowest for any team in the Premier League.

Their record on the road on the other hand has been abysmal, and that was on show in the reverse leg against Chelsea, when they lost 4-1 despite playing more than one half with a extra man on the field. At the Liberty Stadium, however, where they have lost just one of their last 19 games, Brendan Rodgers will be confident of his side's ability to hold their own against a side that he had coached in his earlier years. The Swans did make a couple of deals this transfer window, and the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson are expected to make the starting eleven on Tuesday. Chelsea loanee Josh McEachran however will not be available against his parent club.

Chelsea:

Chelsea travel to the Liberty just five days before their huge clash against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge, hoping to get back on track after managing just a draw against fellow promoted side Norwich City in their last league encounter. They did play a fractious game against Queens Park Rangers at the weekend, however, one that they won 1-0 to qualify for the fifth round of the FA Cup. Andre Villas-Boas will nevertheless want goals from his side, who despite holding a strong five-point lead in the fourth and final Champions League qualification place have not really impressed in recent weeks and have really lacked any sort of firepower upfront.

The Blues have managed to score more than one goal in a game just the once in their last seven league games, and with Didier Drogba on international duty they have just the misfiring Fernando Torres among their ranks in attack. Torres did have a bittersweet experience at Stamford Bridge against Swansea earlier in the season, scoring a rare goal before getting sent off in the first half. He has not scored since, and will be hoping to make use of yet another chance that he will receive on Tuesday to get his critics off his back. Chelsea could field January signing Gary Cahill in his debut in place of the injured John Terry, who is missing through a recurring problem of fluid in his knee.

Head to Head:

24 Sep '11 : Chelsea 4 - 1 Swansea City

Form Guide:

Swansea City (LLWWW)

28 Jan '12 : Bolton Wanderers 2 - 1 Swansea City
21 Jan '12 : Sunderland 2 - 0 Swansea City
15 Jan '12 : Swansea City 3 - 2 Arsenal
7 Jan '12 : Barnsley 2 - 4 Swansea City
2 Jan '12 : Aston Villa 0 - 2 Swansea City

Chelsea (WDWWW)

28 Jan '12 : Chelsea 1 - 0 Queens Park Rangers
21 Jan '12 : Norwich City 0 - 0 Chelsea
14 Jan '12 : Chelsea 1 - 0 Sunderland
8 Jan '12 : Chelsea 4 - 0 Portsmouth
2 Jan '12 : Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 - 2 Chelsea

Probable Line-Ups :

Swansea City (4-5-1) - Vorm, Caulker, Williams, Taylor, Rangel, Britton, Allen, Sigurdsson, Sinclair, Dyer, Graham

Changes aplenty are expected for the Swans in midweek, with the likes of Michel Vorm, Steven Caulker, Neil Taylor, Joe Allen, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Danny Graham all set to return for the hosts for the trip of Chelsea. Caulker is certain to be joined by Ashley Williams at the back, with Angel Rangel to continue in his regular right-back's spot. Kenny Agustien and Wayne Routledge are likely to miss out in favour of Leon Britton and Scott Sinclair. Loan signing Josh McEachran isn't available against his parent club.

Chelsea (4-3-3) - Cech, Cahill, Luiz, Cole, Bosingwa, Romeu, Essien, Meireles, Mata, Sturridge, Torres

While their forward line is a pretty straightforward pick, Villas-Boas has troubles with his midfield, with Ramires, Frank Lampard and John Obi Mikel all missing for the encounter on Tuesday. The manager might have no option but to hand Michael Essien his first start since his return from injury, alongside Oriol Romeu and Raul Meireles. Gary Cahill is expected to earn his debut at center-half alongside David Luiz, with Jose Bosingwa is likely to again pip Branislav Ivanovic to the right-back's berth.

Prediction: Chelsea will start as favourites on Tuesday, but it will be hard to count out Swansea, who have an admirable record at home which includes a win against Arsenal only a few weeks back. Swansea are known to be a good passing side and if Brendan Rodgers' outfit can keep tight at the back, then they could be in for some success against the depleted Blues.

Predicted Scoreline : Swansea City 1 - 1 Chelsea