London: Sunderland manager David Moyes is wary of Swansea City’s midfield threat but is confident his strikers Jermain Defoe and Victor Anichebe will earn his team three Premier League points on Saturday.
Sunderland, who are 18th in the table but have won three of their last four league games, visit bottom club Swansea who were thrashed 5-0 by Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.
Swansea put five goals past Crystal Palace in November, and Moyes said the team’s midfield trio of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Jack Cork and Leroy Fer could pose problems.
“Swansea have shown they can score goals but they’ve also shown they can concede,” Moyes told reporters on Friday.
“Sigurdsson, Cork and Fer are very good midfield players. At home, [Swansea] will want to get them on the ball.”
Anichebe and Defoe have scored six goals for Sunderland in the past four games and Moyes is boosted by the return of striker Fabio Borini, who has been out since August with a groin injury.
“Fabio is just about ready to be involved after one week in training,” the manager said, adding that Anichebe, brought in as a free agent in September, had impressed him with his contribution.
“I think Victor Anichebe coming in has exceeded many expectations, but I always believed he had a lot more to offer,” Moyes said.
“[Defoe] is also in a real purple patch. He’s fit, he’s sharp and I hope he keeps scoring goals.” Striker Duncan Watmore faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a cruciate knee ligament injury in Sunderland’s 2-1 win over Leicester last weekend.
“Losing Duncan is really bad news for us and terrible news for the boy because he’s been doing so well,” the Scotsman added.
“When the swelling is down, he will have his operation and hopefully we can get him back as soon as possible.”
